


Homeward

by Just_Char



Series: Finding Family [3]
Category: Epithet Erased
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Asexual Character, Canon Autistic Character, F/M, Family Reunions, Minor Original Character(s), Multi, Parent-Child Relationship, Past Child Abuse, Queerplatonic Relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-04-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:34:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 22,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23803945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Just_Char/pseuds/Just_Char
Summary: Ramsey Murdoch's a nice guy. He's even maybe a good guy, depending on who you ask. But he's not a family guy, alright? So when he gets invited to join Percy and Molly for Christmas in Percy's hometown, well, that's kind of a difficult situation for him. Not because he doesn't care about the two of them, of course he does. But he's not really good with Christmas, or family, or anything in between. Fortunately for him, neither are they.
Relationships: Percival "Percy" King & Ramsey Murdoch
Series: Finding Family [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1714978
Comments: 49
Kudos: 108





	1. Prologue

It was too cold to draw. The boy scribbled another doodle out and shoved the white A4 sheet aside to join the pile of scrunched up pages from earlier. His markers were wasted and his hands were shaking too much to stay steady. He was a useless artist anyway, but without any control in his hands his lines were even more chaotic and impossible to control. He was tempted to go downstairs and ask to put on the heating, but he knew better than to risk it. He was safer in his room, alone and cold. He leaned forward and held his breath, listening for any noise downstairs. What were they doing down there? It was always hard to tell. He sat straight again, sighing. Outside, the bells rang in celebration. He could hear them even through his closed window. Could they? Did they even know it was Christmas? I mean, surely they did, right? He tried not to talk about it with his dad, in case he thought he was trying to get stuff, and his mom never really liked to talk about anything. He usually just told himself that they forgot, and that’s why he didn’t get anything, but he was eleven now and that excuse was starting to wear thin. They had to know it was Christmas; it was so blatant. So why didn't they do anything? Maybe it was his fault.

Someone knocked on his door, and didn’t wait for his reply to open it. He tried not to tremble. “Heya, sport.” But his dad’s voice was so deep.

He swallowed the lump in his throat. “Hi, dad.” He was such a baby.

“Just drawin’, is it?” Why was he so scared?

“Yeah.” A total wimp, like his friends at school said. No one was even doing anything to him.

His dad rubbed his chin. “Good boy. You gonna come downstairs?”

He paused. “Uhm..." He wanted to believe it'd be somehow different this time, but he wasn't stupid. "No. I think I’m okay here.”

His dad nodded. He knew as well as his son did what waited downstairs. “Alright. Keep it up.” And then he was gone. Tears pricked at his eyes, but the boy quickly wiped any tears on his face with his sleeve. He'd thought he'd be used to it by now. His dad never gave him anything but a few minutes to make sure he wasn't dead or dying.

But he didn’t even want much more than that, not really. He never asked for toys. He could always smuggle paper and crayons from school, sometimes toys on the rainy days when they had recess inside. He didn’t mind. He just wanted to have a normal Christmas, like the other kids did, with dinners and presents and hot chocolates and hugs. He just wanted a Christmas like the ones you'd see on TV. No one argued in the movies. No one stayed up in their rooms, drawing pictures with wasted markers. His stomach rumbled, but he didn’t want to cause trouble. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair at all. Something shattered downstairs. He could hear his dad apologising.

“What the fuck is wrong with you!” Why did she always have to yell? The tears came back, but they were different now. Frustrated. He couldn’t get it. Whenever he was upset, he kept it all in his stomach until he felt sick. He didn't talk about it. He didn't yell. He just held inside. Why couldn’t she do that?

Ramsey took another sheet of paper from where they hidden under his drawers. He hated his stupid mom, and he hated Christmas.

* * *

The rumble of celebrating downstairs was incredibly annoying. It wasn’t that she didn’t like that they were having fun; that would be incredibly inconsiderate. She just didn’t understand why they couldn’t be more reserved about it. Case in point, she was having a wonderful time with her jigsaw, and she wasn’t yelling and shouting and laughing too loud about it. Did they have no self-control? Or did they just not care how much noise they made? She cared, but she not everyone was like her, she was starting to learn.

Someone opened her bedroom door quietly. She only knew because it creaked. “Are you alright, dear?” Her voice was soft.

The girl frowned. “Yes. It’s very loud downstairs.” She went back to her puzzle. Hopefully that explained it. She didn’t look up when she spoke because there was no need; she knew it was Auntie Jennifer. The only other person who checked up on her when she was in her bedroom was Dad, and this person didn’t sound like him. She grabbed one of the pieces from the box and examined it. The noise was louder not that the door was open. Perhaps it was her that was not like everyone else.

Her aunt leaned against the door frame, large and friendly, with chemically whitened teeth. They were very bright when she smiled. “It is, isn’t it? Are you hungry? Do you need anything?”

She didn’t need anything. If she did, she’d just ask. “I’m okay. Thank you.” She was nine years old now. She was responsible enough to take care of herself. She paused, her hand lingering just an inch above the jigsaw as she was about to click a piece in. She thought of the events of just a few minutes prior. “Is Uncle Eddie mad at me?” She felt weird asking. She just wanted to know if she was in trouble. If she did something wrong, she wanted to fix it. She didn’t want to be a bad kid.

Auntie Jennifer sighed. “No, sweetheart. Uncle Eddie’s just a little grumpy, that’s all.” She sounded mad too. She hoped it wasn’t at her. She liked Auntie Jennifer. She was like her dad.

“Oh. Okay.” Uncle Eddie was always grumpy. She was starting to believe that was just an excuse. “Thank you.” She pressed the piece in. It fit much better than she did. “You can stay with the adults, Auntie Jennifer. I’m okay.” She didn’t want to stop her Aunt from having a fun time. It was Christmas, after all.

“Are you sure? I can stay up here and help you with your puzzle, if you’d like.”

She tried to think about it. She didn’t need help– she was very good at puzzles– but the company would be nice. On the other hand, Auntie Jennifer would have a lot more fun downstairs with the grown-ups than upstairs doing a jigsaw puzzle with her. “No thank you.” Jennifer nodded, closing the door behind her. She could get back to her puzzle now. But now that she was alone again, Percy could only stare at the jigsaw pensively. She didn’t want to be ungrateful, but she was starting to think she didn’t like Christmas.


	2. Chapter 2

Ramsey was starting to get used to having dinner with Percy and Molly. Er, not that it was a definite thing or anything– it was never specifically planned. But whenever he came over, he would stay for dinner, and, completely unintentionally, it seemed he was coming over more and more often. It wasn’t always great, or even more than edible– Percy was a terribly bland chef, and neither he nor Molly had the heart to tell her– but he didn’t mind. It wasn’t like dinner was what he was really staying for. He was just glad to be out of the state-provided apartment he was usually stuck in. It was small and crammed, and yet somehow too big and empty for one person. Percy’s apartment was small too, but it was so much more homely than his. More lived in. 

He put another mouthful of plain spaghetti into his mouth. It was kind of funny. He used to like eating dinner alone, but now that he knew the alternative, it was a lot more lonely. Takeaway was still way better, though. One of these days, he wanted to invite Molly and Percy to his apartment for dinner, y’know, return the favour. He had to clean up first, though, and it was taking him a while to find the motivation to do anything but sleep and work. 

“Thanks again for painting my room, Mr Murdoch.” While Percy ate her food with the manners of a king, Molly pushed and twisted her pasta around like she wasn’t really hungry. Ramsey liked her. She was a good kid. A real good kid. And Percy was obsessed with her, always yapping on and on about her whenever they were on jobs together. He was pretty sure he knew more about Molly than Percy at this point. 

He waved his hand. “Eh, it wasn’t nothing. S’nice to get out of the old apartment anyway.” 

Percy patted her mouth with a napkin. It was weird seeing her out of uniform, but he was slowly getting used to that, too. “Whether it was nothing or not, we appreciate your effort.” He couldn’t figure out what she was wiping from her mouth though, the pasta was completely dry. 

He pointed at Percy with his fork. “You’re just sayin’ that ‘cause you couldn’t do it yourself.” He leaned towards Molly with a fake whisper. “Percy can’t draw for snacks.” Molly giggled. They both looked at Percy expectantly. That was another reason Molly was a good kid; she entertained his stupidity.

Percy raised one of her eyebrows. “It’s true, I am no artist. However, I am also not a _con-artist_.” Her smirk was adorable. 

Molly covered her mouth with a fake gasp. “Ooh, she’s got you there, Mr Murdoch. Are you just gonna take that?”

Ramsey almost laughed. He leaned back in his chair. “Oh, was that supposed to be a burn? Heh, well, I may be a criminal, but at least I’m not a _nerd._ ” Debatable, really, but he wasn’t gonna admit that.

Molly was now doing fake sirens. Percy frowned. “There is nothing laughable about being well-educated.” She put down her fork. _Gotcha_.

Ramsey grinned. “Oh, I see. So you can give it, but ya can’t take it, huh?” Percy was easy to rile up, and incredibly predictable. 

“I can take you back to prison, Ramsey.” He almost choked on his pasta. _Usually_ , she was incredibly predictable.

He put his hands in the air. “Yes ma’am. No more jokes from this convict.” Molly laughed in a wonderful way and Percy smiled warmly at him. He looked down at his food so they couldn’t see the heat rising to his face. Eh, bland old pasta was worth it. Made him feel like they were a family. He frowned. 

But they weren’t. He was just a guest. He hated how the thought stung. Ramsey cleared his throat. He didn’t want to think about it anymore. “You excited to go to Marchpoint for Christmas, Molly?” Percy had told him they were going to her hometown for the holidays earlier, while they were doing the room. They’d been before, he was pretty sure, during the previous summer. He remembered because Percy was pretty nervous about it. 

Molly swallowed whatever was in her mouth. “Sure! Marchpoint is really pretty, and Percy’s parents are really nice.” Percy smiled into her pasta. 

“Heh, sounds like one a those little fancy holiday towns. Marchpoint.” 

Molly nodded. “It’s pretty fancy! Percy’s parents live in one of those big country homes with a porch and huge backyard, and all the little town shops look like they’re from the sixties. It’s so much quieter than the city.” 

“Doesn’t shock me Perc’ is from such a posh place.” He glanced at her to gauge her reaction, but she seemed to be too busy examining his face. “What’d I do? I got something on me?” He checked his shirt for stray spaghetti. 

Percy shifted her gaze. “My apologies. I was… lost in thought. What we were speaking about?”

Ramsey felt uneasy just brushing it off, but he did it anyway. “Talkin’ about your fancy pants hometown, Sparky.” 

Percy smiled. “Ah, yes. Marchpoint certainly has its charms. However, I prefer to be in the city where I am needed.” Ramsey and Molly shared a knowing look as she put a fist to her heart. “Indeed, such a sleepy town has no need for my unforgiving sense of justice.” 

Molly lifted some spaghetti in her fork. “It’s nice for the holidays though!” 

Percy narrowed her eyes. “Justice doesn’t take holidays.”

Ramsey grinned. “Alright, Judge Judy, let’s not bring work to the table.” 

Percy nodded. “You’re right.” She solemnly brought some spaghetti to her mouth. 

Molly gave him a curious look. “What’re you doing for the holidays, Mr Murdoch?” 

Ramsey found himself thrown off by the question. He shifted in his seat. “Me? Uh, nothin’, kid.” He decided to spare her the soggier details. “My family’s too far away and small to bother visiting every year. I like to keep it to myself.” It wasn’t exactly a lie. Just… an extension of the truth.

Percy smiled obliviously. “How practical!” She wasn’t great at reading between the lines, which is how’d he’d gotten this far without talking about his family in the first place.

Molly, on the other hand... “That’s sad, Mr Murdoch. Don’t you want to be around people during the holidays?” She gave him a dejected look. Yikes, she was really pushing it now, wasn’t she? 

Percy looked at him curiously. Oh, no. How was he gonna play this? “Nah, I’m good. Not too into heavily commercialised stuff. Just another day off to me.” Percy frowned. 

“While I usually like to respect the wishes of others, I would not like to think of you spending this time alone, Ramsey. The holidays are a chance to reconnect and spend time with the people you love and care about. They are not, as you say, just ‘another day off.’”

_Dammit._ He was going to argue, but Molly spoke first. “You should come with us to Marchpoint! I’m sure no one would mind.” Ramsey gaped. Alright, he wasn’t expecting that. And, from the looks of it, neither was Percy. She looked like she was rebooting. Molly waited with a nervous smile. “Uhm, would that be okay, Percy?”

Percy blinked. He waited nervously too. It wouldn’t be the worst Christmas he’d ever endured. He imagined the three of them drinking hot chocolate in the fancy little holiday shops. Like a little family. Percy looked off to the side. “I would have to call Mother, but I don’t see why not.” She looked like she was trying to smile but forgot how. Ramsey shook his head. Eh, he shouldn’t have gotten his hopes up. Still, the fantasy was nice for all the ten seconds it lasted.

He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Look, I don’t wanna be burdenin’ a buncha strangers all out of pity–” But Percy interrupted him.

“Ramsey, would you like to come?” She was so serious. Her eyes bore into him, waiting for an answer. It’d be lying if he said no, huh? And he couldn’t look her in the eye and do that, so…

“I guess. I mean, if the food’s free.” He winked. He wasn’t good with the serious stuff. “But I don’t wanna come if I’m just gonna be in the way is all.” 

Molly nodded, playing with her food again. “I understand, Mr Murdoch. I just thought it’d be nice to have another person I’m really comfortable around going to meet so many new people… But if you don’t want to, it’s okay.” She gave him a horribly sad, Oliver Twist smile. Oh, God, she was gonna make him cry.

He put his hands up defensively. “Alright, alright! I’ll come if I’m able, just stop looking at me with those big ole puppy dog eyes. Geez, I can’t stand it.” Molly grinned at him. He pointed at her. “But don’t blame me if Percy’s parents say no–”

“Excuse me.” Percy suddenly stood from the table, her cell phone to her ear. “Hello, Mother… Why, yes, it is a lovely evening... About Molly and I staying over...” She left the kitchen, leaving the two of them alone. 

Ramsey shot Molly a look. “She’s straight on it, huh?”

Molly nodded. “She doesn’t like to waste time. She’s like a sim.” He hadn’t heard that one before.

Ramsey raised an eyebrow. “Whatcha mean?”

Molly awkwardly made vague gestures with her hands. “It’s like, you know when you tell them to do something, so they cancel all the other stuff they’re doing and do it straight away?” 

“Oh, yeah.” He laughed. “That’s a good one. I’m stealing that.” He looked at his half-eaten dinner. “Let’s chuck these now so we don’t gotta eat another mouthful,” he whispered. Molly giggled. Ramsey stood, taking her plate and his. “Where’s your trash can?” 

Molly pointed to the corner closest to him and he quickly scraped both plates empty. It wasn’t just that the food was bland, she usually gave him way too much, and it took so long to eat it that by the time he’d gotten to where he was, he was full. Molly cleared her throat loudly. 

Percy was coming back into the room. “Excellent. I will see you soon, then. Yes.... Yes.” He quickly sat down and Molly shot him a wink. He couldn’t help but smile; it was like they were little partners in crime, or something. “Yes. I know. It’s quite fascinating. Indeed… Goodbye.” Percy put her phone back into her pocket as she entered. Ramsey couldn’t help but note the formal tone of the conversation. Percy was just like that, though, he supposed. 

Molly leaned towards her. “What’d she say?” 

Percy hummed. “Well, first she said ‘Hello.’ Then, ‘It’s a lovely evening.’ Then, ‘Why are you calling during dinner.’ Then–”

Ramsey quickly interrupted, “I think she meant, what’s the verdict, chief? Er, am I coming or going?” He was a little embarrassed he cared so much, but it was too late for shame.

Percy rubbed her chin. “Both options you’ve given me suggest you are allowed. Which do I pick if you’re not?” 

Molly groaned. “Percy...”

“My apologies." Ramsey suspected she was doing it on purpose. "You may come, Ramsey.” Ramsey felt his chest untightening.

“Yes!” Molly jumped up to hug her, embracing Percy’s torso with a tight squeeze. Percy held her ground firmly, but her eyebrows flew up. They were cute. Percy was getting a lot better at receiving hugs, Ramsey noticed. She smiled and returned it with relative ease, patting Molly on the head. “Thanks Percy,” she mumbled into her shirt. It kinda warmed his heart that she cared so much about him. Enough that she wanted to spend time with him. 

Percy shook her head. “Of course.” They were so warm and welcoming in a way he couldn’t see himself ever deserving. Percy raised an eyebrow. “Do you have homework to do?” Molly let out a small eep and raced out of the kitchen suddenly. Percy watched her go with quiet contemplation. She was only ever so emotional around Molly; he was kind of jealous.

Ramsey stood awkwardly, rubbing his arm. “Yeah, uh, thanks, Perc’. I appreciate it. You really didn’t have to.” Should he be there? Geez, something about being alone with Percy really turned his confidence into mush. It was fake confidence, but still. Maybe it was a comfort thing.

Percy smiled at him. She was dressed casually in her sweatshirt and jeans, but still stood with a kind of power that made you feel like you were under intense scrutiny. “I think your presence will be good for her. It can be quite overwhelming meeting new people, especially for children.” And then she opened her mouth and you remembered she learned half of her dialogue options from How To books and she didn’t seem so intimidating. 

His presence? Good for a kid? Sometimes he thought she gave him too much credit. “Eh, maybe. I guess I’d better get going.” He wanted to stay, with the same primal part of him that wanted to hug Percy too. 

“Of course. Thanks for joining us, Ramsey. It’s always a pleasure.” Her tone was off. She started collecting the plates from dinner. Maybe she was a little disappointed too. It could be hard to tell, but he liked to think he was getting the hang of understanding her more subtle mannerisms. 

Or maybe he was just fooling himself. He took the plates from her and brought them to the sink. “Heh, yeah, well, that’s me. I’m pretty great company.” He smirked, putting a finger to his cheek. “And I’m pretty too.” 

Percy opened a drawer and pulled out a pair of rubber gloves. Of course she used gloves to wash dishes. Ramsey barely used soap. “Very. Thank you very much for your assistance.” 

He almost didn’t notice she agreed with him. Emphasis on almost. “Aw, you think I’m pretty?” He wiggled his eyebrows. Percy was fun to embarrass, but he hoped he wasn’t pushing her _too_ much. 

She looked away, clearing her throat and pulling on her gloves. “How is the apartment treating you, Ramsey?” She started running the warm water.

He leaned against the counter. “Fine. Kinda small.” Three words to substitute how he hated it because it felt like a government-provided prison cell, and how he felt like everything he did was being watched even though it couldn’t have been, how bad his muscles ached when it rained and how he hated sleeping alone. “I like the tv. Free cable.” 

Percy smiled, procuring a sponge from a dish beside the sink. “I’m glad it’s to your liking. Perhaps if you keep working hard, you will be able to move somewhere bigger.” And then it was just the sound of her cleaning. Ramsey didn’t mind the quiet. He liked it. It was a comfortable silence, like they were just enjoying being there.

Percy looked at him for a moment. She cleared her throat. “Well, there is no point prolonging the inevitable.” Maybe he was hearing things, but she almost sounded like she was sad he was leaving. Or maybe she was just uneasy because he was messing up her plans a lot today.

He pushed off the counter. “Yeah. Thanks again for dinner, and, uh,” he coughed awkwardly, “Bringing me along for the holidays.” Percy just smiled.

“Goodbye, Ramsey. Until tomorrow.” But he didn’t leave. _Say something. Say something._

Percy looked over from the sink when she realized he hadn’t moved an inch. “Are you not leaving?” She seemed more confused than anything, but Ramsey was embarrassed for lingering anyway. 

_Nice one._ He was pretty useless at this, huh? “Yeah, yeah, sorry. I was just, uh... Right, uh, seeya.” With other company, he found it was a lot easier to leave. Hell, usually he wanted to leave. He was a stay-at-home kinda guy more than anything. But there was something about Percy. Something about the little home she’d built for her and Molly. It was different. He wanted to be there. He wanted to be a part of it. They meant something to him, and he liked to think he meant something to them. He just didn’t want to ruin it by asking for too much.

With a sigh, he grabbed his coat and left. _One thing at a time, Ramsey, one thing at a time._

* * *

Percy and Molly had arrived outside his apartment building at exactly seven in the morning. He’d been waiting outside with his worn, old suitcase and a shopping bag with three wrapped presents, bundled up in a winter coat and scarf. It wasn’t even that cold in the city, but Percy had told him it was snowing in Marchpoint, so he decided he was better safe than sorry. He’d made the right decision, it seemed, when Percy came out similarly protected by a plain jacket and cute, navy trooper hat. In the back seat, Molly was similarly warm in her bear hoodie and gloves. “You two are looking cosy.” 

Percy smiled at him. “Good morning, Ramsey. Do you need to use the bathroom before we go?” Ah, she was too cute for her own good.

He gave her his best angel eyes. “Nah, I went.” 

Percy checked her watch. “Excellent. Then we are right on time. To the trunk!” She waited a breath. “To do away with your luggage!” She pulled out her keys and clicked the trunk open.

Ramsey followed eagerly. “Yes ma’am.” He dragged the heavy suitcase to the back of the car, waving at Molly through the window with the shopping bag still in hand.

Percy lifted the trunk open before reaching for the handle of his suitcase. “Please, allow me.” She flashed him a polite smile. He put up no fight. It was nice to be treated nice, and besides, acts of kindness were Percy’s love language. That, or she was just ridiculously polite to her friends. He wasn’t really sure; their relationship tended to stay fairly business-casual. She’d never told him anything she didn’t think he wanted to know, and apparently her other friends were in that. 

But really, Ramsey wanted to know everything. He responded to her smile with an over-exaggerated coo. “Why thank you.” She took his suitcase and lifted it into the back of her car with ease. Now, if Ramsey were a lesser man, he might be embarrassed, but he was mostly just impressed. Percy was pretty strong.

She gestured towards his shopping bag. “You have another.” _Ah ah ah, not so fast._ She reached out to take it, but he put a hand up to stop her. “Nope. This one’s presents, gotta keep it away from its recipients.” While he had no doubts Percy was too well-raised to take a peek inside, he wanted to keep it a little special. 

Percy beamed. “How kind! Molly will certainly be excited.” He tucked it into the corner, between the wall of the trunk and what he assumed was Molly’s suitcase. It had a Banzai Blaster sticker on it. Apparently, she was still palling around with the kid from Redwood.

Ramsey shoved his hands into his pockets. “What can I say? I’m a stand-up guy, officer.” He yawned. Seven was a lot earlier than he was used to, even with work. Percy didn’t seem to notice.

She pushed down the trunk and smiled at him. “There’s no need to call me ‘officer’, Ramsey. I am off-duty.” 

“Heh, of course. My bad.” He went through a quick mental checklist in his head, making sure he had everything he needed. His hands felt his phone in his pocket, and his wallet and the inhaler in the other. All good, then. “I’m good whenever you are, Perc’.” 

“I am good now. Let us be away. I’d like to get there before sundown.” She marched straight to the driver’s side door and he mirrored her, eager to get out of the cold. He sat on the passenger’s side and turned to look at Molly in the backseat. She was on her phone, typing away to someone. 

Ah, even the best of tweens weren’t perfect. “Mornin’, kid.” Nah, he wasn’t one of those. If a kid wanted to talk to their pals on their phone or whatever, he wasn’t gonna stop them. 

Molly looked up and smiled. She looked as tired as him. “Good morning, Mr Murdoch.” He was gonna have to say something about that stuffy name if they were gonna be sharing a house for a week.

He scratched his scruffy chin. “Hey, it’s Ramsey. I ain’t your teacher.” 

Molly nodded and yawned. “Okay!” At least she was still peppy. Ramsey was feeling more like Oscar the Grouch than anything else. Percy was still checking her mirrors, as she did every time they got into a car. Now or never. He awkwardly rummaged in his pocket for the inhaler.

It was funny. Now that he was thinking about it, and who he had grabbed it for, he was realizing she probably had another fifty spares lying around. Still, it’d do her more use with the others than collecting dust in his apartment. “Hey, Perc’. I hope you don’t mind, I brought this uh, inhaler, for you. In case yours ran out or you forgot it or somethin’. Thought it’d be a good idea to have a spare.” He pulled the box out of his pocket. Percy stared at it. 

“Oh!” She wasn’t expecting that. “Why, how thoughtful.” She took it from him and neatly placed it in the side pocket of her door. “Thank you, Ramsey.” Heh. He was just glad it went down well. When he first grabbed it, he was pretty confident it was a nice thing to do. But every minute leading up to actually giving it, he was changing his mind about it. What if she took offense? What if there was more to asthma than he knew and she needed a really specific dosage that she could only get with a prescription? But, nah. She was happy. Of course she was; it was Percy. 

He pulled his seatbelt over his shoulder and clicked it into the buckle. He was kind of excited. Percy looked at both of them. “Does everyone have their seatbelts in?” Hers was already pulled securely across her chest. 

“Uh-huh!” 

“I got mine.”

Percy stared at his belt with a slight frown. “Ramsey, yours is too loose. In the case of a car accident, it would have too much give to save you. You must pull it after you fasten it, like this.” She demonstrated on her own seatbelt. She reminded him of the flight attendants running through their safety spiel. “A simple gesture such as this one may save your life.” 

Molly interrupted him before he could say anything. “One time, the road safety people came into my school with a big car on a rack and everyone got to get in and get turned upside down to show how important your seatbelt is.”

Percy beamed. “What a clever use of real-life experience to prove the importance of everyday actions!” 

Molly chuckled. “Yep. It was terrifying. Sure, I had nightmares for weeks, but I’ll never forget my seatbelt ever again.”

Ramsey nervously fixed his belt. Neither would he. He didn’t want to sound like a hardass, but turning kids upside down ironically didn’t seem like the safest way to teach them about seatbelt safety. “Geez, kid, how old were you?”

Molly stretched her arms. “Twelve. It was this year.” Her eyes hardened. “The wounds are still deep.” Sometimes Ramsey couldn’t tell if she just had dark humour, or if she was severely traumatised. If his life were anything as a reference, though, it was probably both. Ramsey tried to ignore the chill down his spine. He didn’t like when he saw himself in kids. 

Percy tapped the screen in the middle of her dashboard a couple of times. A GPS app popped up. “Hm. Let me see.” Her mouth formed a thin line as she continued to press different buttons. Didn’t seem like she was familiar with using it. Molly went back to her phone and leaned back into her seat comfortably. Ramsey pulled off his scarf. It was a little stuffy in the car. “Aha, there we go! Percival King obtains another narrow victory against the treachery of modern automobile technology.” 

Molly gave a tiny, but supportive whoop. Ramsey grinned. She’d only had the car a few weeks. Her boss at work had convinced her to get a new one once she was financially able, and Ramsey had offered to hook her up with a friend he knew in the industry. A perfectly legal friend, of course. He wasn’t dumb enough to sic a cop on a contact.

And suddenly, the car was moving. Percy pulled out of the parking spot with intense accuracy. Ramsey liked how Percy drove; it was relaxing. She never went faster than she had to, never slammed on the brakes unless absolutely necessary, and, most importantly, never suffered road rage. She liked driving. He’d offered before on jobs to take turns, but she insisted she was happy to do it. Probably something about being in control. 

Look, Ramsey was no psychologist, but he had been Percy’s friend a while now, and he couldn’t help but notice she kinda needed to be in control of everything. He didn’t think of her as controlling necessarily, but it was clear she liked to take the reins when she could. Of course, that was fine by him because he was terrible at being in control of anything. He watched her check her mirrors again. Ramsey liked that she was so by the book. He wasn’t much of a driver himself; he had a license, but nothing else. He never left the house unless he had to, and Percy picked him up for work when he was needed. Grocery store was a short walk away, and anything else could be reached with a bus or taxi. There was no point in having a car, not right now, so he didn’t have one.

Government didn’t pay him that well, anyway.

_‘Take the second exit at the next roundabout.’_

Oh yeah, he’d be tuning that out. Molly yawned, rubbing her eyes. Percy’s eyes darted up to the mirror to look at her. “Are you tired?”

Her eyes widened. “No! I’m okay.” Ramsey fidgeted with his scarf. She was too good a liar for a twelve year old.

Percy frowned. “What time did you fall asleep?” While not the best judge of honesty, once Percy was on something, that was that. 

Molly looked up at her. “Uhm, eleven?” She looked back at her phone. Ramsey watched Percy carefully. It was almost like he could see the gears turning in her head. She didn’t believe her.

“That isn’t–”

Ramsey cleared his throat. “So, uh, what time did you two wake up at, then?” Ramsey didn't know everything, but telling a kid they were blatantly lying didn't seem like a good approach. Kids were emotional, and whether they wanted to or not, they defended themselves.

Percy blinked, pushing down her indicator. He’d never interrupted her like that before. He felt kinda bad. “... Six am.” She gave him a questioning look. She was just gonna have to trust him.

He casually rolled his shoulders. “So, uh, Molly. You only slept _seven hours?_ ” Ramsey shot Percy a quick wink. Her mouth opened for a moment in realization, and then she nodded. 

Molly rubbed the back of her neck. “Yeah, I guess so. But it’s not a big deal! I’m okay.” She gave a very convincing grin, but the bags under her eyes told otherwise. 

Percy’s grip on the steering wheel tightened. “As a young person, seven hours of sleep is unfortunately not enough. Children are required eight to ten hours of sleep per day. Should you be behind on your sleep schedule due to our waking up an hour earlier, I suggest taking this time to catch up. That way, the trip will seem shorter, and you will have the benefit of added energy when we arrive.” She glanced at him as if to ask, ‘Was that okay?’ He nodded. She smiled, looking entirely relieved. He understood. As long as it'd seemed, Percy really wasn't parenting long enough to be certain of everything. Ramsey wasn't sure anyone was.

Molly rubbed her face. “I don’t wanna make a big deal out of it.” Ramsey’s heart swelled. She really did remind him of himself. 

He turned to look back at her. “Hey, sleeping in the car ain’t a big deal. You ain’t the one driving right?” He shrugged. “I’m gonna have a quick nap too. Little rat nap.” He winked at her. “Gotta get my beauty sleep, y’know?”

Molly giggled. “Alright, I guess it couldn’t hurt…” She yawned again. “Giovanni always says I should sleep more too.” Percy almost smiled. 

Her eyes didn’t leave the road. “Do you have an adequate substitute for a pillow? It can be quite dangerous to strain your neck whilst sleeping upright.” 

Molly pulled her hood over her head. “I’m just gonna lean against the window!”

Percy blinked, and suddenly her eyebrows creased. “What about the draft?” 

Molly blinked back. “There… isn’t one?” 

Percy frowned. “What if there is? I would hate for you to get a cold before Christmas.”

“Percy, it’s really okay! There’s no draft. It’s good!” 

“If you’re sure.” She sounded sheepish. It was cute how she worried, Ramsey thought. The longer Molly lived with her, the more she sounded like a real parent. She was always that type, of course, the caregiving kind, but she was really in her element with a kid to look after. (No matter how nervous she always seemed about it.) He smiled to himself and leaned back into his chair. He was lucky to have found her. Molly, too, though he got the impression Molly was doing as much good for Percy as she was doing for her. In different ways, she’d managed to save both of them, even if she didn’t know it. 

He’d have to tell her someday. He glanced back at Molly, who was already lying against the window and trying to sleep. He was gonna wish her a good rest, but he decided not to interrupt her. 

Ramsey yawned again and reached to cover his mouth. He was lying when he said he was gonna have a nap before, but now he was considering it. He didn’t really sleep last night.

He settled on staring out the window instead. It was nice to watch all the buildings go by. He hadn’t been on a car trip since he was seventeen, and that one was a lot more… urgent. Maybe staring out the window wasn’t as nice as he’d figured. He sat up a little straighter and pulled out his phone. He’d check his art blog, maybe. See what the other people were up to. Maybe he’d play a game? He didn’t have many on his phone, but it was better than nothing. He had Minecraft, but he’d only played it once and that was like, two months ago? Three? Eh, he wasn’t feeling it anyway. Candy Crush was a definite no, too. _In fact…_ He quickly deleted it. He didn’t even remember downloading it in the first place.

So his phone was useless. He shoved it back into his pocket and rubbed his eyes. He didn’t want to talk and wake Molly up– he knew he couldn’t sleep unless it was completely silent. His leg bounced up and down. He liked being lazy, but he didn’t like doing nothing. There was a strict difference. Percy had managed to notice his fidgeting. “Are you alright, Ramsey? You seem… restless.” 

He shook his head. “Don’t worry about me, Sparky. I’m all good. Just not great with, uh,” Thinking about his traumatic childhood? “Y’know, confined spaces for long periods of time and all that.” Good save. 

Percy nodded. “I see.” She paused. He could feel her trying to remember a time he’d ever expressed a similar feeling. She couldn’t, of course, because it was a half-assed lie and he was already feeling terrible about it. “Are you claustrophobic?” 

Ramsey rubbed his neck. He’d try to be a little more honest this time. “Nah. I guess... it’s more like feeling trapped in a cage. I’m just too wild and gorgeous, I guess. I gotta be free.” He looked out the window. They were almost out of the city. 

“I see.” Percy smiled to herself, as though she was trying to keep something in her mouth. “So what you’re saying is… you do not like to be a… cornered rat.” Oh yeah, she was proud of that one for sure. Percy liked rat jokes.

Ramsey rolled his eyes playfully. “Aw, geez, Percy. You’re killing me. That’s the worst one yet.” He waited for her reaction, or a clever quip, or something, but Percy just smiled. Weird. Molly snored quietly in the back. Ah, that’s why.

How could a twelve year old be so cute? Usually they were bratty and mean by now. “Aw, geez. She’s a good kid.”

Percy glanced down. “Thank you for helping me earlier, Ramsey. I’m not always sure how to approach things.” Ramsey smiled awkwardly. He wasn’t expecting her to point it out.

“Hey, uh, it’s not a big deal. I just… uh, y’know.” He looked away. “Sometimes talking to kids is tough. Especially kids who, y’know.” Molly deserved better. At the very least, he thought, she was getting better now.

Percy sighed. “Yes.” She took a deep breath. “The world is not as just as I would like to think it is, but we can still do our part to make it a little better.” Ramsey nodded. He looked at Molly, sleeping peacefully in the back. With her hood up, she really did look like a little bear cub. 

He looked back at Percy. She seemed so solemn, suddenly. She was always a little formal, but it was in a sobering way now. He understood her anger. Hell, he was probably angrier than she was. The more he thought about it, the worse he felt. “Some people just shouldn’t have kids.” Percy didn’t reply, but it was a silent agreement. She was just too nice to say it. 

And then he felt her hand on his arm. “I’m sorry, Ramsey… I didn’t intend to upset you.” And it all melted away. He inhaled sharply. Percy didn’t initiate physical contact, and her touch was awkward and hesitant and rehearsed, and her hand was cold. But she thought she upset him, and she was intentionally going out of her comfort zone to make him feel better. 

Aw, geez. Now he just felt like he was gonna cry, the good kind, though. He held himself back. “You… You didn’t upset me, Sparky. It’s not your fault the world’s messed up. Besides, I’m just a big softie. You don’t gotta worry about me.” He tried to laugh it off. Her hand was still there. It felt odd. It didn’t feel unnatural, but it felt uncomfortable, like she didn’t know how to touch someone. She didn’t know when to stop. But who was he to talk? He didn’t know either. Still, he didn’t want her to be uncomfortable.

_‘Turn left in 100 metres.’_

A _handy_ segway if he’d ever heard one. “You not gonna need that hand to indicate, Officer?” 

“Oh!” She quickly retracted her hand and pushed the little lever down. “Apologies. I don’t usually get so distracted while driving.” It was nice while it lasted, though. He’d never feel so warm again, he thought. 

Ramsey settled into his chair. “Eh, we were talking about some pretty loaded topics.” And she was focusing pretty hard on comforting him, but he didn’t want to say that. “You’re good. Besides, no one’s even around. No harm, no foul.”

Percy raised an eyebrow. “There are several laws in place that say otherwise.” Sometimes, somehow, he forgot he was talking to not only a cop, but the biggest goodie two-shoes known to man.

Still, he shrugged. “You’re gonna arrest yourself?” He wouldn’t be surprised. Oh, God. She kind of looked like she was considering it.

“No,” she said, finally, “Though if it happens again, I may have to.” She paused, taking in the scene in front of her. “It’s beginning to snow.” She only sounded half-surprised. 

Ramsey looked out the window. Hell, she was right. “Whaddya know? You good for driving in this kinda weather?” He was so caught up in their conversation he hadn’t even noticed they were in the countryside now. It was pretty. He’d have to paint it someday. 

Percy turned on her windscreen wipers. “Of course.” Yeah, he wasn’t expecting her to say no. Didn’t hurt to be safe, though. 

“Cool.” His eyes were starting to feel heavy and irritated. Maybe he’d have that rat nap he was going on about after all. He stretched his back and tried to get a little more comfortable. “Hey, Perc’, you wouldn’t mind if I caught a few ‘z’s myself, would ya?” 

Percy smiled. “Of course not. Please, feel free.” 

“Alright. Wake me if you need me.” Ramsey tried to settle in, pulling out his scarf from under his legs. He pulled it up over his head, trying to make it as dark as possible. He was a picky sleeper, but he was also exhausted. Now that he had his eyes closed, it was like it all hit him at once. Not just the exhaustion; where he was going. He was in a car headed directly for Percy’s hometown for Christmas. Because she and Molly wanted him to be there. There was no going back now, not when they were already out of the city, and his bag was packed and he’d bought presents and everything. Ramsey took a deep breath. Oh, God. He was gonna meet Percy’s _parents_. And her aunts and uncles and whoever else was coming. Something tightened in his chest. He was officially in it for the long haul. 

Terrifying.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am Irish. Sometimes, things that are common in Ireland, such as sitting around a kettle and drinking tea and coffee, are not as common in other places. Also, cars are weird to write when you're accommodating for a mostly-American audience. Apologies in advance if anything seems off or wrong; that is simply a clash of cultures. :]

“Ramsey.” Ramsey stirred. He murmured something unintelligible. _Not awake. Do not want to get up._

“Ramsey.” He groaned quietly. Geez, was her voice always this loud? His ears were tired.

“What..?” He mumbled into fabric. _Sleep. Want sleep._

He started to drift off again. “Ramsey.” Eugh, she was like an alarm clock. Steady, reliable. _Easily broken with a hammer._

A different voice. Molly? “I don’t think he’s waking up.” Why was it so dark? Wait, where was he again? He yawned and batted foggily at the air. 

“Nngh.” That’d tell ‘em. 

“Perhaps he is too tired. I will leave him.” Yeah! Back off, lady. Leave a man to rest.

“No, no! I’ll get him.” Molly ripped the scarf off his face. Devious little rascal. The light flooded his senses in a horribly overwhelming and painful way. 

“Nooo… too bright.” He hissed playfully, and covered his eyes with his hands, but apparently hell hath no fury like a Molly bored. He could hear her laughing at his suffering. How long had he been out?

He could hear Percy undo her seatbelt. That’s right, they were in the car. He moved his fingers to peek out at them. She looked at him curiously. “It worked. Excellent work, Molly.” 

Ramsey smacked his lips together and pulled his hands from his face. Percy and Molly were smiling at him. Eugh. They were too cute to be mad at. He sat up, cracking his back. “We there? Wh.. What’s going on?” His muscles ached.

“We’re almost there, but I needed to stop for gas. Do you require anything from the gas station? Perhaps sustenance? You really should eat. It’s been quite the trip.” He got woken up so Percy could _nag?_ Molly really did have no mercy. 

Wait. Sustenance. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes. That was Percy-speak for food. He quickly shook the tired off. “Wait, uh. Like… a snack?” His stomach yearned for trash.

“Yes. Like a… _snack._ ” Percy didn’t seem too pleased with his idea of snacks, but, eh, to each their own. 

Ramsey sat up and nodded. “Yeah. I would love a snack.” He looked past her and at the gas station.

Molly leaned forward in her seat, both hands on Ramsey’s chair. “Percy, can you get me chocolate milk?” 

Percy considered it for a moment. “Hm. I don’t see why not.”

Ramsey batted his eyelashes. “Can you get me a chocolate milk, too, Percy?” he echoed in chorus.

She squinted at him. “Yes. That’s all? Chocolate milk?”

Molly leaned back into her seat. “Yep!”

That was certainly not all he wanted. Actually, maybe it would be rude to ask for so much food and make Percy get it. “Here, let me pay for it, Percy.” He rummaged around in his pockets for a twenty dollar bill. “Just get stuff for the house, y’know? Have it around.”

Percy put her hand up. “No need, Ramsey. I am certain my parents have a surplus of food for the holidays.” 

Her parents probably had a ton of pasta and bread. He wanted the good stuff. “I insist. C’mon, let me treat us. Besides, I don’t wanna be asking your folks for oreos at three in the mornin’. It ain’t polite.”

Percy hummed. She glanced to the side. “I would not like to promote midnight snacking.”

Ramsey rolled his eyes. “I said three am, not midnight.”

“I feel as though that is worse.” Yeah, it definitely was. 

“Three A.M.’s the witching hour,” Molly said, casually. Ramsey glanced back at her. Yeah, Molly seemed like the kinda kid that would know that.

He pointed at Percy. “Three A.M.’s when I get my me-time, ya can’t take that time away from me. It’s how I get my high.” Nope, Percy looked like she thought he genuinely meant drugs. He tried again. “Y’know I’m a night owl, Perc’. C’mon, let me get some snacks.” 

Percy sighed. “Well, while I do not condone your eating habits, I suppose I cannot stop you, either.” She took the rolled-up twenty. “Thank you. I’ll only be a moment.” She pushed open the car door and got out. 

Ramsey peered out the window as Percy filled the tank. Molly undid her seatbelt and shifted to the middle to get closer to him. She followed his line of sight and raised an eyebrow. “Y’know… I’m not really sure you should trust Percy to pick out sweets.” 

Maybe she was right. Percy had the opposite of a sweet tooth. She had, like, a bland tooth, or somethin’. Still, he’d give her the benefit of the doubt. “Eh, she can’t be that bad. I mean, I said oreos a couple of times, so she might get those.” 

Molly didn’t seem convinced. “On Halloween, she gives out rice cakes.” Oh, that didn’t sound good.

Ramsey smiled weakly. “The yoghurt ones?” Less of a ‘benefit of the doubt’ now and more of a ‘grasp for straws.’

Molly shook her head. “Not even the yoghurt ones.”

The _horror._ “Oh, God. She feeds plain rice cakes to kids?” Ramsey ran his hand through his hair. There was no way he was eating rice cakes at three in the morning like some sort of saddo. “You’re right, I’ll get her an itemized list before she goes in–” He started patting his pockets for a pen.

Molly pointed out the window. “She’s already gone.”

Ramsey froze. He looked out the window towards the gas station and made a very quick, very serious decision. He unbuckled his seatbelt and smiled at Molly. “Y’know what? Let’s go keep her company.”

When they got inside the store, Percy was investigating the shelves that were, in fairness, mostly junk food. Maybe they should’ve had more faith in her after all. She looked up at them with mild surprise. “Oh! Has something happened? I thought you would wait in the car.”

Ramsey shrugged nonchalantly, already eyeing the cookies. “Eh, we decided we’d help you pick stuff.” 

Molly immediately got distracted by the drinks fridge. “Oooh, I’ll get the milk!” She raced away.

Ramsey called after her. “Molly, get me some a those weird energy drinks that destroy your heart.” Percy glared at him in a loving, caring, ‘please put good things into your body’ sort of way. 

It was a good thing someone cared, ‘cause he sure as hell didn’t. “What? A man’s gotta get energy somehow.”

She frowned. “Yes, through the consumption of glucose and carbohydrates.”

Ramsey shrugged. “Plenty of glucose in these, I bet.”

“Ramsey.” Oh, she was giving him the evil eyes now. Well, as evil as someone trying to look out for his health’s eyes could be.

He tried to salvage the situation. “I’ll hide ‘em from your parents?”

Now she just looked aghast. “Do not lie to my parents.” Nope, that was worse.

He shook his head. “It’s too late, I’m already schemin’. This is what you get for bringing a con-man to Christmas.” 

She nodded, looking away from him. “I see now that I have been a fool.” Heh. It was funnier when she played along. 

Molly appeared, suddenly, her arms filled with chocolate milk and energy. “Got ‘em!”

Ah, any child that retrieved his beverages was a good child. He gave her a solid pat on the head. “Thanks, kid. You mind holding them for a bit?” It’s not that he _wouldn’t_ hold them. There was just no way of handing them off without dropping one.

Percy looked over at the drinks fridge. “Perhaps I should get a drink as well.” She definitely should; Percy had a habit of forgetting she was dehydrated. 

Ramsey nodded. “You find something nice and I’ll grab you a protein bar.” Or did protein bars have too much sugar? It was always hard to tell. Percy’d once given him a lecture about how sometimes foods lie, and things that are ‘healthy’ are not actually healthy, or something like that. He couldn’t really remember which ones were a lie, though. 

Percy seemed pleased with the protein bar offer. “Thank you. I’ll only be a moment.” Ramsey watched her wander off to find something that wasn’t mostly sugar water. He liked how different they were; made stuff interesting. 

Molly lingered. She didn’t seem like she knew if she was allowed to ask for anything. Ramsey nudged her. “Ey, Molly. Get whatever you want, it’s on me.” 

“Really?”

“Yeah! Go for it.” As she went off to find something, he started grabbing cookies off the shelves. And maybe he’d grab some chips? I mean, it wouldn’t hurt. And something for the road too, just one or two candy bars. And Percy’s protein bar, of course. Maybe another, in case he wanted to try it. Hey, Percy wanted him to eat, and he wasn’t gonna disappoint her. 

Percy snuck up on him, holding a bottle of water and a smoothie. “Do you have everything you require?” She startled him.

His heart going ninety, he turned to look at her. “Geez, Percy, warn a guy, would ya? I almost dropped my stuff.” She inspected the contents in his arms.

“I will be sure to warn you next time.” Ramsey often imagined Percy had a strong, inner monologue, like she probably narrated everything she did in her head. Which is probably why judging his dietary choices was taking so long. She finally looked back up to meet his gaze. “Is this everything?”

Well, it wasn’t going to be, but Ramsey figured he could put a cap on it here. “Uh, heh, yeah.” Molly came back to them, now with a packet of marshmallows on top of the drinks. “What about you Mol’, you got everything?”

She nodded. “Yep!” He glanced down at all their stuff. Maybe he’d need more than twenty.

Percy smiled. “Perfect.” Suddenly, her 8-bit ringtone played. She fished in her back pocket for her phone and examined the screen. “Ramsey, would you mind paying while I call my father outside? I won’t be long.”

Ramsey shrugged. “Sure, go for it.” She delicately placed her bottles on top of his pile of garbage like a cherry on top of a gross sundae, and tucked two twenties underneath the smoothie with a concerned smile. She didn’t seem convinced of the stability, but she was also in a hurry.

“One moment.” She swiped right on the call and put the phone immediately to ear as she walked away. _Wonder what that’s about._ Ramsey turned to the till and unloaded his hoard onto the counter, swiping the twenties from the pile real quick. Molly started putting her stuff up too. He helped while the cashier scanned.

He glanced out to the pumps to see where the car was. “Twenty on three, too, please. And, uh, a bag.” He looked at how much stuff they got. “Two bags. Thanks.” He glanced at the total on the register and fished another ten from his pocket. 

The cashier took the cash from him and popped opened the register. “No problem, man.” She flashed him her best customer service smile while Ramsey shoved everything into the two plastic bags.

Ramsey remembered when he worked a minimum wage job. He decided he did not want to remember anymore. “Alright, let’s get outta here.” He took the bags off the counter and started heading towards the door. 

Molly nodded and followed him, looking back at the check-out mildly. “Yeah. Minimum wage jobs remind me of darker times.” 

“Darker times, huh?” He tried not to think of his own ‘darker times’. He half-suspected she was kidding, anyway.

She looked away overdramatically. Oh, yeah, this was definitely a joke. “Yes. My past life.” Her eyes darkened. She stopped pouting to look up at Ramsey, who’d put on his best ‘dark and brooding’ face to match.

“I guess we’ve all got a dark side.” He held open the door for her and she walked through laughing. Nice, he was still funny. Or she pitied him. Eh, still got a laugh. 

Outside, however, Percy did not seem as happy. Ramsey and Molly shared a look. She wasn’t exactly easy to upset. “Thursday? I thought… I see. Of course. Worry not, I am sure everyone will be perfectly pleased…” Ramsey winced. Yikes. That was the closest Percy’d ever get to passive-aggressive for sure. “Yes. We will see you soon. I love you as well. Yes. Goodbye… Yes, goodbye. Yes, of course… I did, yes. Goodbye, father.” She glanced down at her watch. “Father, I must go. Yes, thank you. See you soon.” She pulled the phone away from her ear and hung up with a sigh.

Ramsey watched her cautiously. “What’s happenin’?” He didn’t want to make her feel worse, but he also wasn’t gonna pretend she wasn’t obviously upset. 

“Is everything okay?” Molly instinctively reached out to put a reassuring hand on her arm. 

Percy smiled at both of them. “Of course.” But her smile didn’t sell it. “Molly, I’m sure you remember I told you my Uncle and his wife would not be able to come this year.” 

“Yeah, I remember!”

Percy nodded, staring at something past Ramsey’s head. “They are… now coming.” 

Oh, no. And there was no room for him, huh. Ramsey rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. “Oh, geez. Do I gotta book a hotel or somethin’? You ain’t got any rooms left now?”

Percy blinked. She shook her head. “No, no. Nothing of the sort. We have multiple guest rooms.”

Ramsey blinked back. “Oh.” Guess he panicked for no reason. _Alright, sorry for assuming, Richie Rich._ Still, he couldn’t figure out why Percy was upset about her uncle coming. What happened to ‘the holidays were a time for seeing loved ones’?

Percy placed her hand on top of Molly’s. “I am very sorry. I am not sure why they did that.” She frowned. “Mm. I can drop you home if you would like.”

Molly pulled away and gasped. “What! Percy!”

Ramsey shook his free hand in a quick panic. “Geez, no! No, no way! I wanna stay. Doesn’t make a difference to me whether or not your uncle’s there! Geez, Percy.” She really jumped the gun on that one. 

Percy scrunched her nose. “Oh, but–” She closed her mouth and nodded. “Alright then. I am glad this doesn’t bother you.” 

Ramsey looked her up and down. She still didn’t seem right. “Looks like it’s bothering you, though.” 

She shook her head. “I am certain I will be fine. I was just… not expecting the change of plans.” While Ramsey had no doubt that was part of it, it really didn’t seem like all of it. Ramsey’d seen Percy inconvenienced, and it definitely didn’t look like this. But if she didn’t wanna talk about it, he wouldn’t push her. Sometimes, she just needed space. 

He nodded. Wouldn’t hurt to push her a little bit, though. “Are ya sure you’re good?”

“Of course.” She gave him a much more convincing smile this time. 

He swapped which hand was holding the bag and shifted in place. “Heh, alright.” Time to do what he did best: change the subject. “Geez, for a second there, I really thought I would have to spend a buncha money on a fancy hotel in Marchpoint.”

Percy furrowed her brow. “Ramsey, were there no more guest bedrooms, you’d simply stay in with us.”

Oh. That wasn’t the answer he was expecting. “Really? You wouldn’t be uncomfortable with that?” 

Percy reached for one of the bags. She gave him a confused look.“I am very well acquainted with sleeping with you, Ramsey. I am not sure how that would be different.”

Yikes. “Geez– Phrasing, Perc’.”

Now she looked even more confused. And this time, so did Molly. She pulled one of the bags to her side. “What was wrong with my wording?” They both watched him expectantly. Yeah, he’d gotten himself into that one.

Ramsey pinched the bridge of his nose. “Nevermind.” He gave an over-exaggerated shiver. “You were right about it being freezing in the North, geez.”

* * *

It was only a half hour drive then to Marchpoint, and it was just as picturesque as Molly had described it to be. It seemed like the perfect little town, the kind of place you’d only see in romantic Christmas movies. Percy wasn’t lying about the snow– it covered everything. From the buildings to the trees, the whole town was tucked in with a loving white blanket. Ramsey didn’t really like the cold, but the snow was so pretty here he decided to give it a temporary pardon. Percy pressed the button to cancel the GPS. She was much more comfortable driving without direction once she was actually in her hometown, obviously. She was giving off a foreign energy; not just relaxed or calm, something else. Ramsey wasn’t sure how she could be feeling. Whenever he thought of his hometown, it was mostly horrible nostalgia. Percy had a comfort in her eyes he’d never seen before in anyone.

He wished he could read her mind, or something. Just to know what it was like. Or, he thought, he could be like a normal person and just ask. “Hey, Perc’, whatcha thinkin’?” 

She smiled softly. “I am looking forward to spending Christmas with the people I love.” Ramsey found his face heating up. He was, uh, not expecting that. Of course, it would be bold of him to assume she was counting him in that, but it didn’t hurt to be a little bold sometimes. 

Molly gushed in the backseat. “Aw! Percy!” Percy’s cheeks grew a subtle shade of pink.

“I am just speaking my mind.”

“Heh, it’s a nice thing to be thinkin’, Sparky.” Ramsey settled into his seat. The little town shops, in all their lovely pastel shades, ambled by. The square was probably the only place in Marchpoint with so many stores and restaurants, and oh, did it show. There were people everywhere, all dressed up in their winter wear as they wandered in and out of shops, carrying big shopping bags filled to the brim with bits and bobs. Christmas shopping incited a very peculiar feeling in Ramsey he couldn’t describe; the opposite of nostalgia? Longing?

Molly pointed haphazardly to an upcoming corner cafe. “We should go there again with Ramsey! They have cute little mice Rice Krispie treats!” Rice Krispie treats? Ramsey had three kinds of tooth: white tooth, gold tooth, sweet tooth.

Percy gazed over towards the cafe. “Oh, yes. You’re right. Ramsey does like confectionary treats.” 

Ramsey liked cafes, too. “Hey, I’m good for whatever candy you got.”

Molly squinted at him. “Even if it means eating your own kind?”

He looked at her through the dashboard mirror. “Hey, rats and mice are not made equal.”

Molly stared back at him seriously. “We are all mice in the face of the infinite cosmos.”

Ramsey laughed nervously. “Alright kid, lay off the marshmallows.” But he didn't really want to stop talking. It was distracting him from noticing how he was starting to feel a little odd. Scared? Nah, it wasn’t that extreme. Maybe just anxious? That was it, anxious. His chest felt heavy. He took a deeper breath as if it would help. It didn’t. Yikes. “Anyone else kinda warm, actually?” His jacket was pretty tight suddenly. He started rolling down the window. 

Percy frowned. “Ramsey, it’s snowing out. While I don’t mind the temperature change, I would not particularly like to get snow in my car.”

Ramsey waved his hand. “I’m only gonna open it a little. I just need some fresh air. Geez, how long have I been in this stuffy car? Feels like hours.” He tried to fan himself as he leaned towards the opening in the window. His stomach was in a knot. 

“Ramsey? Are you okay?” Molly asked, “Oh no, was it my joke? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to force you to come to terms with our existential dread...” Aw, geez, now he was freaking everyone out. 

Percy gave him a look of concern. “Ramsey is fine, Molly. He just doesn’t like tight spaces.” Right, that’s what he’d told her, huh?

Ramsey nodded. “Yeah, kid. Don’t worry about your joke, it was funny! I just get agitated. It’s, uh, my bad. I’m sorry for worrying you. I’m fine, really!”

“If you say so…”

“We’ll be there soon, Ramsey. Then you will be free to have as much fresh air as you require.” And free to make a total idiot of himself in front of Percy’s parents. He shouldn’t have agreed to come. He was gonna act like an idiot and then Percy’s parents were gonna hate him and then Percy was gonna hate him because obviously if her parents don’t like him why would she and he’s gonna mess everything up and– Oh, God, he was gonna get sick, wasn’t he?

The stores whizzing by were making him dizzy. “Percy, can you stop the car for a sec–” This was embarrassing, but if Percy didn’t want _snow_ in her car, well– 

Percy gaped for a moment. Her eyebrows furrowed. “That would not be safe–” 

He was choking on his own air. He had to get out. “Percy, seriously–” But he was _fine._ Why did he have to make a big deal out of everything? Percy quickly, but legally, parked on a sidewalk and he pushed the door open, stumbling out into the fresh air. “Geez.” In and out. In and out. Percy and Molly bolted out of the car. Molly got to him first. 

“Ramsey? Are you okay?” She put her hand on his arm. It was oddly reassuring. He leaned back onto the car door.

“Yeah– yeah, I’m fine–” He sounded like he’d just run a marathon. Why the hell was he freaking out so bad? He ran his hand on his hair. At least he wasn’t puking?

Percy arrived to the left of him. Her face told him she was only mildly shocked, but her voice shook. “Do you need anything?” He was upsetting them. Why was he being such a wimp– 

He put up his hands, but Molly didn’t let go. “No– No, I’m fine. I just, uh, I need, uh, to breathe. I just need to breathe.” It was just so hot in that damn car. The snowfall was helping cool him down, but he still couldn’t breathe right. He was starting to get a headache; his brain was foggy.

Suddenly, Molly held his arm with both hands. “It’s okay, Ramsey, I have you.” She held onto his sleeve gently and closed her eyes. A coolness ran through his arm. “See? Doesn’t that feel better?” His chest was starting to lighten. 

He blinked. “Yeah, actually.” The fog in his brain started clearing up. Molly smiled up at him, but she still seemed worried. 

“Are you sure? I can stop if you don’t want me to…”

“No, no, it’s good.” He took a deep breath. He’d almost forgotten Percy was there; she was like a statue, just watching. She still looked worried, too. “Thanks, kid.” He patted her hands. She was really warm, unlike Percy. 

“Hey, of course! Are you calm now?”

“Yeah. I am.” He took in the fresh air.

Percy’s mouth quickly became a worried frown as she noticed the people walking by. “I believe we are becoming an obstacle for the pedestrians.” 

“They’re pedestrians, sure, but I’m a patient of Dr Dumb– That’s a terrible name. I didn’t think about that one.” He was so relaxed he couldn’t even make a solid joke. How else was he gonna pretend he was alright?

Molly shook her head, downcast. “Now I’ll never become a doctor. Gotta cross my one and only dream off the list, I guess.” She wiped away a fake tear.

Ramsey patted her on the back. “Don’t worry, I’ll paint you up a real nice PhD.”

Percy frowned. “You do not have the jurisdiction to distribute legal PhDs.”

Molly rubbed her chin. “I don’t think he said anything about ‘legal’, Percy.”

Her frown grew. “Ramsey, if her innocence is corrupted due to con-artist proximity I will respond as I see necessary.” He couldn’t tell if she was serious or not. Percy could be scary.

He nudged Molly playfully. “Welp, time to make use of that right to remain silent.”

Percy looked around uneasily again. “Are you ready to get back into the car? I don’t mean to rush you, but we _are_ almost there, and you’ll be able to get more space once we get to the house.” She did seem genuinely apologetic.

“Yeah, I’m good.” He felt better now, anyway. Percy smiled. Her shoulders untensed. Well, they untensed to the point of tension she was usually at.

“Excellent.” She started moving back around to the driver’s side, careful of the non-existent traffic. Molly gave him a final pat on the arm and moved to get back into the backseat. She’d really done him a solid there. He hadn’t realised her epithet was even able to do stuff like that– he’d only seen her mute stuff before. 

Ramsey opened the car door and tried to shake off any leftover panic. He was too calm now to even be embarrassed. He hadn’t had an attack like that for a while. He climbed back into his seat. Percy and Molly looked at him expectantly. Oh, geez, were they looking for an explanation or something? An apology? He cleared his throat and pulled his seatbelt over his chest. “Uh, sorry about that. Sometimes I get too hot in cars.” Percy gave him the same look she gave Molly when she lied and Ramsey swallowed the lump in his throat. 

She turned back to the road and started preparing to drive again. “I’m glad you feel better now, regardless of why, Ramsey.” Yikes, caught out on a lie by _Percy?_ And he was supposed to be a con-artist. He was getting soft.

Instead of pursuing it any further with Percy, who was already distracted by her mirrors, Ramsey turned to Molly. “I didn’t know your epithet could do stuff like that, kid. I appreciate it.” 

Molly smiled. “Don’t worry about it, Ramsey, I’m used to dealing with panic attacks. I’m like a human brown bag!” Percy began her impeccable reverse out of the space. 

Ramsey smirked at Molly. “Yeah, you really gotta hold yourself to a higher standard, kid, you were at _least_ an airplane oxygen mask.”

Molly paused in thought, squinting. “If my life is an airplane, does that make the past few years a crash landing, or a water landing?”

Ramsey blinked. “Uh.”

She shook her head. “Probably whichever is worse.”

Ramsey waited for Percy to tell them. “While one may think that a water landing is worse due to the crushing despair of being lost at sea, the impact force and subsequent fire is far more dangerous in a crash landing, making the survival rate for commercial airliners hitting land practically zero!” There it was. She looked fairly proud of herself.

Molly nodded. “Yep, it’s that one.”

He glanced at the two of them with a terrified curiosity. He could only imagine what their conversations were like when it was just the two of them. “Glad we sorted that one out.” Something cold landed on his cheek. He glanced at the window. Shoot, he’d left it open.

Percy turned the wheel. “Here’s a fun fact. You are more likely to get into an accident whilst in a car than in a plane. Fascinating, isn’t it, Ramsey?” Ramsey rolled up the window and gave her a stern look.

Ramsey grabbed his face. “Perc’, I’m JUST after a panic attack. Maybe let’s talk about crashes later? When we’re not in an actual car?” 

Percy raised her eyebrows. “My apologies. I believed the educational conversation would soothe your anxieties.”

Molly leaned forward. “Percy watches Mythbusters when she’s stressed.” Yeah, that didn’t shock him.

Percy smiled, apparently at the thought of watching Mythbusters. “That is not correct. I watch Mythbusters when I am free to watch it.”

Ramsey turned to look at Molly and grinned. “Yeah, kid.” He winked. “It just so happens Percy’s always stressed anyway.”

Speaking of stress, Percy checked her watch and frowned. “Ramsey, can you grab my phone out of the glove compartment? We’re late, and I would not like my parents to be waiting.”

“Uh, sure, of course.” Ramsey pushed the button and the glove compartment opened with a satisfying click. Percy’s phone sat inside, right between the hand sanitizer and the insane pile of napkins, and directly in front of the– Wait, was that..? “Percy, have you got a thesaurus in your glove compartment?”

“Indubitably. I find that it makes for transportable, insubstantial, and airy perusal.” He had to stifle his laughter– If she knew how funny he found it, she’d do it all the time, and he wasn’t nearly as well-read; he’d have to carry a dictionary everywhere just to get what she was saying.

Ramsey grabbed the phone and pressed the home button. “I know that one was on purpose.” He swiped the phone open. And then he blinked. “You don’t have a password.”

Percy didn’t seem to understand why this was a big deal. “No.”

“Right.” He nodded. “Alright. That’s fine. Just text your mom, right?”

“Yes. Please inform her that we are only three minutes away.”

“Geez, that close, huh? Don’t worry, I’ll make sure it looks exactly like you.”

“I doubt you can fool my own mother, Ramsey.” Couldn’t be that hard. He imagined how a silly robot might say it.

_Hello, Mother. We are approximately three minutes from your house. Goodbye._

Yeah, that worked. “I dunno, I’m pretty sure I have you down.” He pressed send. It was seen pretty much instantly. “She sent you a thumbs up back.”

Percy didn’t reply. She took a left turn and suddenly they were out of the town square and into the neighbourhoods. Ramsey watched all the much larger houses pass by with great interest. He tried to imagine Percy playing on the roadside. Nah, way too dangerous. He tried to imagine her in the gardens instead, swinging a sword around and playing cop. Involuntarily smiling, he turned back to look at her. He was willing to bet she was a pretty cute kid. She was smiling too, though he wasn’t sure if she knew how dopey she looked.

She was excited. He glanced up at her dashboard mirror. Molly was smiling too. She was doing the same as him, watching all the houses go by, with the perfectly painted pastel walls and terrifically trimmed front gardens. 

He felt like he was in a 1950s advertisement for Jell-O. Everything was so perfect; it had to have been fake. But it wasn’t; it was real and right there in front of him. And Percy _grew up here._ No wonder; she was perfect too. They were starting to slow down. “We, uh, we almost there?”

Molly pointed at the house on the corner of the road. “It’s that one there, the white one. Isn’t it pretty?” It was just as lovely and unwelcomingly flawless as the rest. 

“Yeah, real pretty.” The closer it got, the more Ramsey noticed about it. Garage was pretty big; room for at least two cars. The lawn was decorated skillfully with little statues and pots, which he assumed were usually for flowers in spring. They were all covered in snow now, but the pathway and driveway were shovelled out. Without Ramsey even realising it, suddenly, they were right there in front of it. He stretched. “Trip wasn’t as long as I thought it’d be.” In fairness, he was asleep for most of it.

Molly smiled at him. “Yeah! I thought it’d be way longer last time, too.” She was fidgeting with anticipation. Ramsey hadn’t realised just how excited she was for this. Percy turned the car so she could back into the driveway.

Percy was real particular about parking, which was nice when she could do it quickly, but not as nice when she was backing into a space. She would back up two feet, drive forward one to fix the angle, and then repeat until they were perfectly in line with whatever standard she had in her little head. Molly was clearly used to it; instead of sitting bored, she stared out the window and excitedly prepared to throw her bag on her back and bolt out the car door once Percy stopped. Reaching the optimal distance from the garage door, Percy put the car in park and started unbuckling her own seatbelt. Ramsey did the same, and by the time he had it off, Molly was already outside waiting for them. 

It was nice to see her so happy about something. Definitely didn’t seem like she lived a life with a lot of that. “She, uh, really loves it here, huh?”

Percy nodded. “Of course. It’s quieter here than the city, and my parents like having a grandchild. She is, for lack of a better word, spoiled.” She smiled at Molly through the window, who waved at her to hurry. “Though, I do think she deserves it, so we should not keep her waiting.” Percy opened her car door and got out. She leaned over to look at Ramsey again. “Ramsey, if you are nervous, you shouldn’t be. My parents think very highly of you.” She turned to Molly and told her to wait for him. 

Ramsey opened his door with an air of hesitation. He didn’t want to leave anyone waiting, but he was also starting to freak out again. “Think very highly, huh,” he muttered to himself. While he was sure Percy had intended to reassure him, he was starting to get more nervous. He got out and grabbed his scarf from the dashboard. Did they not know he was a convict? Nah, Percy wouldn’t lie. But, she was also prone to leaving out information she didn’t see as necessary; maybe they just didn’t know? Oh, God, and he was so ugly. They were gonna take one look at him and tell him to get out. Rat-looking guys like him don’t belong in places like this, everyone knows that. He swallowed the lump in his throat and took a deep breath. He was starting to mix all of his insecurities into one big pot and it wasn’t doing him any good. 

Right. He could deal with his anxieties after meeting them.

Seeing Ramsey had gotten out of the car, Molly hurried past him and over to the porch, rushing up the steps to ring the bell. Percy walked over to him and smiled. “I’m glad you’re spending Christmas with us, Ramsey. I hope you like it here.” Great, now he was nervous _and_ embarrassed. He went to thank her, but he got cut off by the sound of the door opening.

Percy’s dad stepped out and immediately embraced Molly in a bear hug, pun not intended. “Heya, Molly! Wow! You getting taller?” The first thing Ramsey noticed about him was that he was huge. _Great, another King that can beat me up._ He’d decidedly be on his best behaviour. 

Molly giggled. “Nope!” Was he supposed to walk over? He glanced at Percy for a cue, but she wasn’t moving either. She was just watching and smiling, which was incredibly cute, but also not helpful at all.

Her father put Molly down and patted her on the head.“Eh, you’re like Percy! You’re supposed to be a little short, that’s how you get past all the bad guys.” He looked up as if he’d suddenly remembered that Percy was also coming. When he found the two of them, he started moving towards them. “Speaking of my daughter– What are you doing standing over there?” Oh, Christ, how was he getting bigger as he got closer? “C’mere! Haven’t seen you since November and you’re hiding!” He embraced Percy around her waist in a sudden and even tighter hug, lifting her off the ground. Ramsey imagined he’s where Percy got her muscle.

Percy patted his back. “Yes, it _has_ been a month.” She was being ridiculously formal, but she was clearly trying not to smile too hard. Was Percival King _embarrassed_ of her dad? In return, Ramsey tried not to laugh. He stepped away to give them space and Molly flashed him a semi-reassuring thumbs up. “Father, you can let me down now.” 

Her father swayed. “I could, but I’d be afraid you’d drive off again! Just another second…” Finally he let her fall back onto her feet and gave her a large pat on the head. “My prince, huh!” And then he looked at Ramsey. Was he sweating? It was freezing cold out, but he felt like he was somehow sweating.

Ramsey cleared his throat. “Uh, hey.” Maybe ‘hey’ was too informal? Percy’s father continued to scrutinize him. Meanwhile, Percy was already making her way to the trunk to get her luggage. Of course she would abandon him. 

Her father nodded. Maybe in approval? “Hey!” He held out his hand. “Arthur King.”

Alright, Ramsey could work with a handshake. He did his best to smile without showing off his golden teeth. “Ramsey Murdoch.” But when he reached for Arthur’s hand, he was suddenly pulled into a hug he could only describe as ‘bone-crunching’. 

Arthur pulled away and laughed. “Ha! Thought you were getting away with it, huh! Nope, anyone who comes with my daughter and granddaughter gets a hug!” Ramsey tried to catch his breath. 

He rubbed the back of his neck. “Guess I should’ve known, huh.” 

Molly wandered over to get her suitcase. “Where’s Liz?” 

Percy pulled her suitcase out of the back of the trunk. “I concur, where is mother?”

Arthur shook his head. “I’ll get that for you, Molly, allow me. You head into the house and put on the kettle. Your mom? Uh…” He lifted Molly’s suitcase with one hand and scratched his beard with the other. “She’s gone to pick up your uncle. She didn’t tell you?” 

Percy frowned. “No. She didn’t.” She seemed a little annoyed? Ramsey tried not to read into it. It wasn’t really his business to assume. It was weird her mother didn’t tell her, though. Nope, no judging. This was Percy’s family, he was gonna respect their dynamic. 

Arthur shrugged his shoulders. He seemed used to it. “Hey, you know your mom. It was last minute and, y’know– She’s got her own thing going on. You alright carrying that, Percy?” Molly had already gone into the house. 

“Of course.” She casually lifted her suitcase with one hand and walked with purpose to the door. Ramsey supposed he’d have to grab his now. Arthur didn’t head into the house. Was he waiting for him? Should he say something? 

“Thanks for letting me stay for Christmas, Arthur.” He tried to pull out his suitcase. It was heavy. His noodle arms were not prepared. Arthur leaned over and helped him lift it out and onto the ground. “And thanks for that, too.”

Arthur laughed. “Of course! The more the merrier. I can bring that in for you, Ramsey.” Arthur took the suitcase from him. “No need to be proud, guys gotta help guys.” He didn’t wait for an answer; by the time he’d finished speaking he’d already walked halfway to the porch. All Kings were the same, huh. Ramsey quickly grabbed the bag of presents and closed the trunk. At least Arthur was friendly. 

He took a deep breath, taking the icy, winter air into his lungs. He was alright! He was kind of glad Percy’s mom wasn’t here yet; that way, he didn’t have to take them both in at once. If Arthur was this much, he could only imagine what her mother was like.

The snowfall was so intense, it was already starting to cover the recently dug out path. Ramsey walked carefully on the slippery path and into the house, closing the door behind him. Molly’s boots and Percy’s loafers were placed neatly on the floor beside their suitcases, and their jackets were hung up on the coat stand. He decided it would be most polite to do the same and took off his wet shoes and jacket, leaving them beside theirs. He put the bag down too. He looked out into the empty hallway. “Where, uh, where’ve you all gone?” he called. The hallway was filled with pictures of Percy. Percy in school, Percy at her graduation… It was like a museum of Percy. Ramsey stepped closer to one of her in elementary school. “Yeesh, proud parents.” He supposed only children just got that kind of attention, usually. He swiped his thumb on one of the frames. Not even dusty. 

Molly’s head poked out from one of the doors in front of him. “We’re in here, Ramsey! Do you want a coffee?” He’d never been more pleased to see anyone in his entire life. 

Ramsey shoved his hands in his pockets and made his way over to her. “Sure.” A coffee would be real nice, warm and comforting. He followed Molly into the kitchen. Percy was standing at the fridge, retrieving milk. Her father was finding mugs for them. Molly raced past Percy to get to the kettle. And, uh, Ramsey just stood there. Awkwardly. “Is there anything I can do to help?” 

Arthur waved his hand. “You’re the guest! Sit down, get comfy.” It was a big ask, but Ramsey decided to at least _try_. He hopped up onto one of the bar stools at the marble island and eyed the fruit bowl. 

Molly brought the kettle to the counter and placed it in the middle. She climbed onto the stool beside Ramsey. He smiled at her. “Feels like a second home, huh, kid?” Molly nodded, the excitement still clear as day on her face.

She wrung her hands out. “Can I show you around after?” She leaned closer to him. “There’s a really cool place I wanna show you.” Ramsey tried to stop himself from grinning. It was nice she wanted to share stuff with him. 

He stretched back in his seat. “Alright! Sounds fun. Besides, this place is huge. A terrifyingly huge Percy museum.” 

Percy suddenly placed the milk and sugar down on the table, alongside three spoons. “Yes, there are many pictures of me around the house, Ramsey.” Geez, she almost scared him. She sat on the seat beside Molly. He smirked at her.

“Easy to be the favourite child when you’re the only child, ay, Perc’?” 

“Certainly.”

“Who said she was my favourite?” Arthur slid onto the seat to the left of him with four mugs. “That’s a coffee for Ramsey, and a tea for Molly and Percy, and another coffee for me!” He pushed each one to its owner one at a time. 

Ramsey’s had a cat on it. He pulled it a little closer to him by the handle. “Thanks.” He peered inside it with mild curiosity. He wanted to know what he was drinking. Instant coffee. Arthur took the kettle first while Molly spooned sugar into her cup. Ramsey reached for one of the remaining spoons and spooned three heaped spoons of sugar in his. What did he say earlier about his sweet tooth? 

“Here, Ramsey.” Arthur handed him the kettle. Ramsey wasn’t really used to using one. He knew Percy had one, but he’d definitely never lived in a house with one before. He poured the hot water into his cup and passed it to Molly. It was quiet. He figured it would be a lot more lively? I mean, Arthur was a lively guy. Percy could talk for years without stopping if she was given reason to. Molly was quiet, sure, but she was also ridiculously excited. And despite all that, no one spoke a single word. 

Well, that wasn’t entirely true; Percy said thank you when she received the kettle. But other than her quiet niceties, it was just silent. Through the window in the kitchen, you could see the snow fall outside. Ramsey topped his coffee off with milk. The mug was nice and warm in his hands, comforting. It wasn’t an awkward silence. They were all just taking it in. 

Ramsey put the mug to his lips and smiled into it. Maybe this wouldn’t be as nerve-wracking as he thought it’d be after all.   
  



	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the most boring chapter of Homeward. It's all exponentially more interesting from here. :]

“Yikes, I really gotta work out more.” Dragging his suitcase into the room with grunt, Ramsey finally let go of the handle to stretch his hands, letting the heavy case fall onto the floor with a sharp thud. “Shit,” he murmured. Well, hopefully it didn’t leave a mark. He cracked his back with a satisfying pop and started examining the room. It wasn’t quite what he was expecting– though, if he was being honest, he wasn’t sure what he was expecting in the first place. Still, it didn’t fit in with the rest of the house, or at least what he’d seen of it. It was bare, empty; sort of like a motel room but cleaner and less creepy, and significantly more familiar, and not in a good way. He checked the walls– no Percies to keep him company. Maybe that was a good thing, actually. Eh, he’d look on the bright side; the bed was big. He turned his head to look out into the hall. “What we thinkin’, Molly?” he called. Molly came from the hall and peeked into the room from behind him to give it a very serious look over. 

He looked to see her reaction. She nodded once, then twice. “Yeah, I’m gonna diagnose this room with haunted. Oh! I should show Trixie.” She pulled out her phone to take a picture. 

Ramsey gulped, his face riddled with a concern that was only half-mocking. “Haunted? Well, geez, don’t tell me that. I don’t need ghosts haunting me at Christmas, what do I look like, Scrooge?” He held out both arms so she could get a good look at him.

She squinted.

Ramsey frowned and let his arms fall back down to his sides. “Y’know what? Don’t answer that.”

Molly stepped past him, further examining the room and its contents. “I don’t think ghosts are too bad,” she mused, approaching the bed. “They’re like people, but being too scared to talk to them is socially acceptable!” 

Ramsey grinned despite himself. “Kid, I am _concerned_ for you.”

Molly shrugged. “That’s fair!” She let herself fall onto the springy mattress and white sheets. “Oh, bed’s comfy though!” 

Ramsey raised an eyebrow. “Yeah? I’ll see about that. Incoming!” He tossed himself onto the bed beside her, aptly surprised at how cushioned his fall was, even for a bed. “Oh, hey, yeah, geez, this is comfy.” Together, the two of them stared up at the cream ceiling. It was serene, peaceful.

“Rich people really get to sleep on beds like this everyday,” Molly thought out loud. Ramsey knew well enough that Percy’s family wasn’t nearly as ‘rich’ as the more corrupt bozos he’d known in his time, but he thought her innocence should be preserved. He remembered when he thought anyone with more than two bedrooms was rich, or two working parents. Or all of the books they needed for school.

Nah, those were memories for another time. He tried to get caught up in the moment again, turning his head to look at his little companion. “You keep going down that road and you’ll become an anarchist.”

Molly feigned fear, clutching both of her freckled cheeks with her hands. “It’s too late! I’m being compelled to fight for worker’s rights! Form a union!” Her hands moved to her neck. “Eugh– No– Howie’s soul is trapped forever inside of me– I am a ruined woman,” she gargled.

Ramsey laughed. “Hey, I wasn’t saying it was a bad thing.” He looked back up at the ceiling for a moment before giving her a knowing smirk. “Might be a little hard for you to commit crimes against the government though.” 

Molly sat up to look at him. “Why’s that?”

Percy ambled into the room then, perfectly timed, as usual. “I see you have both made yourselves very comfortable.” 

Molly’s face seemed to flicker between both horror and shock as she finally realized what Ramsey meant. “ _Oh my God, Percy **is** the government._”

Percy’s eyebrows creased upwards. “I’m sorry, what?” Her face was priceless. 

Unable to hold himself back any longer, Ramsey let out a laugh loud enough he surprised himself. Molly quickly joined in, giggling and snorting until the two of them were a giggling mess on the bed as Percy looked on, pleasantly confused. As silly as it was, it brought an odd sense of familiarity and warmth to a room he’d expected only to feel strange and cold. 

Having decided that they’d had enough jovial banter for the moment, Percy cleared her throat in a way that was completely unnatural and unsmooth. “If we are done here, I believe we should return downstairs. It would not be right to leave my father waiting.” She gestured towards the staircase on the other side of the door. 

Instead of complying, Ramsey settled in a little more, closing his eyes. “Why don’t you go down ahead of us, Perc’?” Comfy beds were hard to leave, especially after all that time crammed in a car. He opened one eye to peek at her reaction.

She almost glared at him. “Because if I leave the two of you two your own devices, you’ll stay in bed all day,” she answered flatly. 

“Ey, guilty as charged.” He sat up and nudged Molly. “Get it? I’m a criminal!” He held his arms out proudly.

Molly brought both her hands to her face in mock awe. “Wow! And it works double well ‘cause she’s the entire government!” 

Ramsey snapped his fingers. “Geez, Molly, anyone ever tell you being that sharp is dangerous?”

“Please,” Percy said, strained. 

“Alright alright, we’re comin’,” She’d been tormented enough. He pushed himself off the bed with both arms and a grunt and Molly followed quickly behind, still giggling. 

She nodded. “Thank you.” At least she was pleased. Ramsey appreciated that she was trying to accommodate their playfulness, even if it contradicted her nature. Well, kinda. It’d be innocent to assume Percy didn’t have a playful side herself– she was just a lot more subtle about it. She began to lead them back to the stairway and they followed like ducks in a line, Ramsey allowing Molly to leave in front of him instinctively. 

The second floor hallway was admittedly a lot less Percy-centric, though it still had plenty of pictures. As Molly and Percy moved on in front of him, Ramsey found his eye drawn to one with Arthur and another woman, who must’ve been Percy’s mother, much younger and standing in front of an airplane, it looked like. She was in uniform. Army, huh? The sound of Molly and Percy already walking down the stairs compelled him to quickly drag himself away and start walking down the stairs himself, grabbing the banister with only a second glance back at the photo. Percy never talked about her family. He wished he knew what he was getting into. 

“Crazy you got so many pictures here, and none in your apartment, Percy” he mused out loud, “Let me guess– you got sick of ‘em?” 

Percy hummed. “Not at all. I can’t say I treat them with much regard, though. I suppose they’re a nice way of capturing memories.” She paused in the middle of the stairs, oblivious to the collision she almost caused behind her. Ramsey quickly halted before he smacked into Molly. Percy turned to face them both. “Do you think I should invest in pictures, Ramsey?”

“I think you should invest in brakelights,” he mumbled, still steadying himself, and Molly giggled. 

Percy raised an eyebrow. “What was that?”

“Er–”

Molly swooped in to save him. “I think you should get pictures, Percy,” she said, “It’d make the apartment feel more home-y.”

“Homely,” Percy corrected absentmindedly, “Hm. I’ll consider it, then.” 

“Not tons of you, though,” Ramsey added playfully.

Percy grimaced, but he only caught it for a moment before she was fully turned away. “No, that would not be preferable.” 

Oof, maybe he’d gone too far? She started again and Molly shrugged back at him as if to say ‘who knows why she took that so seriously she had to stop walking down the stairs’ and he shrugged back as if to say ‘not me, anyway’. They followed her down and into the hall. Percy probably didn’t like them very much, Ramsey realised, so he tried not to look at the pictures. It made sense, he guessed, but did not try to explain why to himself.

Percy opened the door to the room closest to the end of the stairs and stepped inside. “Father.” She nodded at Arthur and moved slightly to let Ramsey and Molly in. It was a fairly average sized room, with three navy loveseats arranged around a glass coffee table. Bookshelves lined the walls, but Ramsey got the impression they were decorative. They did not hold many books, anyway. Arthur sat on the one to the right of the room, scribbling into a notepad. He was wearing reading glasses now, it looked like. In front of him, the coffee table was littered with pages and receipts. Molly immediately sprang onto the seat across from Arthur and patted the space beside her to invite Ramsey to sit with her. He gladly obliged. Arthur put down the notepad and pushed his glasses up and out of his face and beamed at them. Percy had made her way over to him and was now standing beside his seat, examining the contents of his notepad. 

He blissfully ignored her curiosity. Probably used to it, Ramsey thought. “How’d unpacking go?”Arthur asked, and then without waiting for an answer, “Happy with your room, Ramsey?”

Ramsey nodded despite himself. “Yeah, yeah. It’s nice.” 

“It’s haunted,” Molly added. By now, she’d sunk deep into the sofa and Ramsey momentarily worried she would disappear. 

Arthur laughed. “House is old enough for it, I suppose.” He gave Percy a light tap with his elbow. “Percy’s got you all on Spookers, huh?”

Wait, what? Ramsey raised an eyebrow and looked at her. “You’re into Spookers? That campy ghost-hunters show?” Arthur’s face fell and he shook his hands hurriedly in warning, but Ramsey was too caught up in the idea of Percy of all people believing in ghosts to give him much thought. It just didn’t fit. 

She looked away from the papers in front of Arthur to frown at him. “It’s not campy, it’s incredibly well-researched and very serious.” 

Molly nodded in resolute agreement. He gave her an incredulous look. Well-researched and very serious, huh? He almost scoffed. “Isn’t one of the guy’s assistants a mouse?” Arthur brought both hands to his face, and Ramsey couldn’t tell if he was scared or laughing. Maybe it was both. 

Molly gasped. “He’s a really SMART mouse, Ramsey! And he has a _name_.” 

“Yeah? What’s that, Cheesy? Aye, just like the show.”

Percy crossed her arms. “If you’re being intentionally provocative, it’s not very amusing.” And that was about when Ramsey realized he was, in fact, treading in extremely dangerous waters. Arthur peeked out from behind his hands to see what he’d do now. Hold up the white flag? Fight it to the ground? Nah, if Ramsey did anything well, it was cowardice. Time to grovel!

“Yeah, I’m sorry. I was just kiddin’ around. Honestly, I ain’t even seen the show before.”

Percy suddenly seemed very stressed. “Buh…” She shook her head.

Molly gave him a similar look of disbelief. _"_ _How?_ _"_

“Have you _never_ watched the horror channel at 9 PM?” Percy sounded oddly suspicious. He hadn’t heard her turn that tone on him since… Geez, since he got out of prison. Both she and Molly stared at him expectantly. Arthur did as well, although he seemed more amused than confused. But it wasn’t exactly a lie. He really hadn’t watched it– it was spooky. Yeah, it was campy, but it was also about _ghosts_ , and Ramsey was _not_ into that kinda thing. 

“Er, well,” He wasn’t going to admit he was afraid of ghosts ever, and definitely not in front of Arthur. “Y’see, 9 PM is about when my uh, art history programme is on.” A lie. A blatant lie. Sure, Ramsey was interested in art history, but he definitely didn’t watch documentaries when he was lazing about. Percy seemed to accept this, but Molly wasn’t satisfied. 

“Then you should watch it with us. We have the boxsets.” A new problem emerges. Molly suddenly got very excited (for her, he guessed.) “We could watch it here, in your haunted room! _Double haunted_.”

Ramsey paled. “Well, maybe not here.” Come on, Murdoch, think! “I mean, Percy probably didn’t bring them!” He gestured wildly towards her. 

Percy sighed. “No, unfortunately not. I didn’t want to overpack.” Oh, thank God. Ramsey let out a sigh of relief. 

Arthur, a man who clearly held no mercy, waved his hand. “No worries, you’ve got some old DvDs here, Percy. I’m sure we could fish ‘em out.” He looked all too pleased with himself. 

“Nice!” Molly cheered, “I guess you _can_ watch it, Ramsey!”

Pale turned to panic. “They’re probably not in order, though, right? I should watch it in order!” Hopefully appealing to Percy’s rigid nature would save him.

Percy nodded, much to his relief. “Ramsey is right, there’s no need to rush things. He can watch it when we get home. Besides, the ones we have at home are much better.” Yes! 

Molly deliberated on this before nodding. “You’re right. They have all the bonus footage, which is just the parts that were too scary for TV.” No! He stifled a groan.

Arthur laughed. “You can talk about it, later. I actually wanted to ask you all a favour.” 

Percy tilted her head at him. “Oh?”

He puffed out his chest. “How would you like to go on a QUEST for me?” Ramsey was impressed by the power in his voice. 

Molly squinted. “What kinda quest?”

“A quest of retrieval!”

“Oh, so a fetch quest.”

His enthusiasm did not falter. “Yes!”

Percy seemed all too used to this, crossing her arms at him. “You didn’t get presents for Gerry and Wendy.” Who were they again? Ramsey decided not asking made him look better, so he didn’t.

Arthur immediately deflated. “No, I didn’t!” He held up his hand in weak protest. “In fairness, Percy, I didn’t exactly think they were coming.”

“Nor did I, and yet I have presents for them.”

Arthur gasped. “Percy! Don’t scold me!” Percy didn’t seem fazed, so he tried a different route. “Honestly, Liz and Jenny are the exact same and yet _I'm_ the one that always gets in trouble! It’s a King tradition!”

“Yes, one that gladly died with me.”

Arthur suddenly stood, looking impending and large. "This is why thou shall never inherit mine throne, Percival King,” he said, gravely, “Thou are no child of mine.”

Percy narrowed her eyes. “You can’t forswear me mine birthright.”

Ramsey leaned over to Molly. “Oh my God, they’re both dorks.”

Molly rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. “Where do you think she got it from?” 

“Aw, Percy, c’mon. I promise you don’t have to go searching or anything! I already ordered them, I just need them picked up.” 

Percy flattened her lips. “Mm. Alright.” And then, having suddenly remembered that they existed, added: “As long as Ramsey and Molly don’t mind, of course.” She looked over to confirm. 

“I don’t mind,” Ramsey said, “I’d like to see town up close and personal.”

Molly shrugged. “Sounds good to me.”

“Alright,” Percy rebooted, “We shall retrieve your gifts.” And then, because apparently Percy was capable of making sly comments, “Not that we’d have to were it not for your inability to plan ahead.”

Arthur waggled his finger at her. “I’d give you a run for your money if I didn’t have to make dinner.” He scratched his beard. “Still haven’t figured out what we’re having.”

Percy looked to the side. “Perhaps you should’ve planned for dinner, as well.”

Molly did sirens, which were somehow more fun when he wasn’t part of the joke. Arthur furrowed his eyebrows. “Do not make me ground you.” 

Percy folded her arms. “Don’t be ridiculous, father, I’m twenty-nine.” Ramsey also doubted she’d ever been grounded before. 

Still, Arthur shook his head. “Don’t tempt me! Wait.” He paused, leaning in closer to her. “Percy?"

“Yes?”

“Has anyone ever realised to open even what they thought they looked like?” And then he clapped his hands together. “Right, dinner!” He ran out before she could respond, as if he knew what he’d done. 

Meanwhile, the gears turned in Percy’s head. Molly counted down from three with her fingers. “Wait,” Percy murmured. She looked at Ramsey and Molly and then at the door where Arthur disappeared. “I will be right back.” She hurried after him. 

Molly turned to look at Ramsey. “Percy’s only weakness is sentences that don’t make sense.”

Ramsey raised his eyebrow. “Don’t tell the criminal that.”

Molly gave him an odd look. “Huh. I forget that sometimes.”

“Really?” He asked it before he could stop himself. He’d sorta thought his past would be on his back forever. It was weird to think anyone could forget about it when he was worried they were thinking about it all the time. 

“Yeah.” She shifted in her seat and gave him a thoughtful look. “I mean, I only ever remember when you bring it up. Or you say something super illegal.” Self-sabotage, huh?

He snickered anyway. “Hey, you can’t beat a good illegal sentence.”

“I mean, Percy definitely can’t.” Wow. Molly seemed as surprised as he did. They gave each other a restrained look before dissolving quickly into embarrassing snorts and guffaws. Soon, the laughter settled, and the room was instead filled with a positive quiet.

It was nice, but Ramsey was getting a little sick of sitting around (for once), so he turned and gave her a little grin. “So, uh, you gonna show me around or what, kid?” He was kinda curious about the place she was talking about anyway.

Molly thought about it. “Depends. What are you gonna give me in return?”

“I mean, you literally offered me earlier,” he pointed out. 

Molly smiled nonchalantly. “Yeah, but then I remembered that living with Percy taught me to value all of my time and demand compensation for it. Are you really going to ask me to undo months of character development?” She gave him her puppy eyes. Dammit, she was good. 

He rolled his eyes in an effort to pretend he wasn’t as won over as he was. “Fine,” He rifled through his pockets. “I got, uh, M&Ms?” He presented them to her.

Molly squinted and poked them wearily. “Name-brand. Good.”

“Of course; I’m not _evil_.”

She snatched them from his hand. “Deal.” Her gaze became softer suddenly. “I’m really glad you came with us, Ramsey.” He felt his heart explode and fought the urge to grab his chest. Nope. Nope. He wasn’t getting attached, not like this, not this early. 

He waved it off. “Hey, no problem. I’m glad to be here.” He stood. “Now, I believe I just paid you for a tour?” 

Molly jumped off the sofa and bowed. “Yep. Right this way, sir.” She grabbed his hand and quickly led him back out into the hall of Percivals. She suddenly dropped it when they got there, as if she’d suddenly realised what she had done, bashfully smiling up at him with a childish innocence he’d never really seen in her before. It was nice. He had to look away, forcing himself to feign curiosity in his surroundings.

He stuck his left hand into the pocket of his jeans. “Alright kid, you wanna start with that place you were telling me about?”

Molly shook her head. “No, that’s last. I wanna show you around everywhere else first, if that’s okay.” Ramsey took this opportunity to examine the pictures of Percy again. 

“Yeah, that’s cool. Probably better if I _didn't_ get lost, huh?” He got why she didn’t like them. He paused on a picture of her at what he estimated to be seven. “Crazy to think she was a kid once, huh?”

Molly looked up to see which one he was referring to. “Yeah, it’s kind of jarring. Liz says she was pretty much always the exact same, though.” 

Ramsey nodded. “Liz… that’s short for Elizabeth, right?” Percy was especially elusive about her parents, it seemed. Every time he’d tried to ask her more about them, she’d tell him the same information; their full names, their jobs, and that they were glad to have him over.

“Yeah.”

He tried not to let his nervousness show, feigning casualness.“She, uh, she nice?”

“She’s nicer than she looks,” Molly offered, looking off to the side with one eyebrow raised. “And she’s not as, uhm, hard to take in as Arthur.”

“Alright, finally something I can work with.” He wiped fake sweat from his forehead and another picture caught his eye. He picked it up off the dresser. “Geez, she must be your age in this one.”

“Oh, yeah.”

“That’s kinda funny.” He pointed at it. “Imagine this Percy telling me off for drinking energy drinks.” He held up to his face as if to take over its persona. “Mr Murdoch,” he said in a squeaky version of Percy’s voice, “If you continue to drink these glucose-ridden drinks I will have to inform my father.” 

Molly laughed, taking the picture from him and putting it back. “I feel like she’d rat on me for sleeping in class.”

Ramsey waved a hand. “Oh, for sure.” He paused. “D’ya think–”

Suddenly, Percy stood in front of them. “Are you two alright?” 

Ramsey grabbed his heart, reeling. “Jesus, Percy– Way to give a guy a heart attack!” Molly seemed unfazed– she must have been used to it.

Percy seemed genuinely remorseful. “Oh, my apologies,” she offered, before holding out a hand as she explained herself, “I simply saw that you were both standing out here, and I thought you might be lost.” She followed their line of sight. “Hm.”

“We’re admiring your portraits.”

She frowned. “Yes, I see.” Right. Discomfort. Ramsey scrambled to make her feel better.

“You were cute,” he tried, “Not that you’ve changed much.” 

Percy inspected the one they had been messing with. “I disagree. I have grown at least five inches since this picture was taken.”

Ramsey tried not to laugh. “I meant your face.”

She shook her head. “I believe my face also got longer.”

Molly leaned over to her and fake-whispered: “I think Ramsey is trying to give you a compliment.”

Percy’s face lit up with realization. “Ah. I see now.” She stood straight up again and looked at him. “I am sure you were also cute when you were younger, Ramsey, and that you…” She squinted. “... still are.”

He smiled warmly. “Thanks, Perc’.” Sometimes he couldn’t tell if Percy was just really good at pretending she didn’t know he was ugly, or if she genuinely didn’t.

She nodded. “Of course. I will return any compliment I receive with equal merit.” Yeah, of course she knew he was ugly– look at him. 

Molly cleared her throat. “Are you gonna help your dad?”

“Hm?” She looked down at Molly. “Oh, I suppose I will. He has an architectural project in Seaside he wants to tell me about. It’s quite the funny conundrum, actually. See, the client is requesting a building with three stories, however–” 

Molly put her hand on Percy’s arm to stop her. “Percy, you know what?”

“Hm?”

She put on a large, fake smile. “I think you should help your dad!” Her eyes bore great intent but they were useless against Percy’s inability to retain eye contact.

Percy’s smile did not leave her face. “I will.”

“Right _now_ ,” Molly said through gritted teeth. 

“Ahh, now I see.” She nodded. “A 'social cue' for me to leave. You wish to be alone.” Ramsey ignored the implication, but his face felt warm anyway. 

Molly nudged her towards the exit, but her feeble twelve year-old pushes were no match for the immovable object that was Percival King. “Yep! Love you! Thanks Percy!” Their dynamic reminded him of a silly 90s sitcom; rigid cop adopts young, brooding girl. What wacky shenanigans might they get up to? 

Percy's face dropped in surprise. “Oh! Er, I love you as well.” They were cute. He’d watch a sitcom about them all the time, he thought, even though really Percy was a terrible actor and Molly was probably too shy to get in front of a camera. 

Molly looked pointedly at the door, both eyebrows raised. Percy followed her line of sight and then nodded. “Right. Goodbye.” She hesitated, nodded again, and then marched away. Laugh track there. Heh, it was funny to imagine. 

Still, he was in a conversation. Pay attention, Murdoch. He whistled. “Wow. I gotta remember that ‘I love you’ thing, really got her outta here.”

Molly mimicked a video game character, robotically putting her hands to her face. “Molly used love! It was very effective.”

Ramsey raised an eyebrow at her. “Pokemon still a thing?”

Molly stared forward with blank eyes. “Pokemon is the only thing that keeps me from losing my mind during my bleak existence.”

Ramsey laughed nervously. “Kid, you terrify me.”

She clapped her hands together. “Tour time! Okay, first, I have a gift for you.” She began to rummage in her jacket. 

Ramsey’s face lit up. “Ooh, gift, huh? Let’s see.” Free stuff was free stuff!

She pulled a folded piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to him. “It’s from the first time I came here.” He took it from her and peered at it. “It’s a little overkill,” she said as he opened it, “But it’s helpful!”

It was a map, expertly drawn with a ruler and different coloured pens. Little drawings indicated the purpose of each labelled room, and a key was written out in the bottom right hand corner. “Heh, this is really good!” He raised an eyebrow at her. “Did you make this?"

Molly shook her head. “No, Percy did. She gave it to me last summer.”

Ramsey found himself smiling softly as he re-examined the doodles. He gently thumbed a doodle of a bed on what looked like the second floor. “I like her little drawings. I didn’t know she drew.”

Molly smiled, moving to stand beside him so she could look at it over his arm. “Yeah, sometimes. Mostly in her notebook, so I guess it makes sense you didn’t know.” And because she didn’t tell him anything. But that was Percy, and Ramsey was patient. 

“Yeah… I’ll thank her for it later.” He folded it up again and put it into the pocket of his jeans. “Right. Educate me.”

Molly nodded, gesturing towards the door they’d just come out of it. “Okay, so where we just were was the parlor…”

* * *

Percy’s family home really was huge. Multiple bathrooms, four bedrooms, an attic and front and back garden, parlor… It was a lot to take in. If he were being honest, Ramsey would say he was incredibly overwhelmed. But when would he ever be that?

“... And that leaves Percy’s room...” Molly stopped walking in front of the room Ramsey had stayed in and another door. “Which is this one, as you know, so if you ever need anything, we’re right across from you!” She smiled up at him. “Any questions?”

Ramsey scratched his goatee. “Nah, don’t think so.”

“Great! Time for the best part of the tour then.” She pushed the door to Percy’s room open and Ramsey froze. 

“Wait, maybe I shouldn’t be going in there? I mean, cause I’m a guy and all.”

Molly raised an eyebrow at him. “Really. I had no idea,” she deadpanned. Then she rolled her eyes. “Trust me, Ramsey, Percy doesn’t care.”

Before he could protest, she took his wrist and pulled him into the room. He fruitlessly attempted to pull his arm to cover his eyes, but was pleasantly surprised to find that Percy’s childhood bedroom was every bit as plain and impersonal as her adult one (though he did appreciate the singular solar system poster.) “Oh.”

“Yep.” Molly moved towards the closet. 

Ramsey followed, taking everything in. “Huh.”

Molly shrugged. “I literally have no idea what else you were expecting.”

“Yeah, that’s fair. I guess I got so hung up on the fact that Percy was a teenage girl that I forgot she was also...”

“Percy? Yeah, the toy box is organised by colour and size.” She opened the closet and started pushing the few jackets inside to one side.

Ramsey grabbed his face. “She had _toys_?” His shock quickly dissipated when he realised that Molly was now climbing into the closet. “Wait, whatchya doin’?” Her hand beckoned him to follow. He shook his head. “No way am I goin’ into the closet, Molly. Sorry.” Not again, anyway.

Molly laughed. “This is how you get to the secret place, Ramsey! It’s a secret panel.” She pulled the back of the wardrobe off the wall and let it fall to the ground. “Come on!” 

“Seriously?” He looked around wearily. “Alright, but if there’s a lion in there, I’m leavin’ you behind.” He climbed in after her. 

Molly was not lying, in any case. There was, in fact, a room behind the wardrobe, lit in a warm yellow by a singular bulb hanging in the middle of the room. On the carpeted floor there were two bean bags, and in the corner, there was a small bookshelf. “Wow.”

Molly jumped onto one of the bean bags, looking comfortable near instantly. “Yep. It’s cool, right?”

“Yeah.” 

“Please, sir,” she said in an overly fancy voice, “Join me in my very posh and very expensive lounge.”

Ramsey bowed. “Of course, milady.”

He threw himself onto the other bean bag and settled in. “Aw, that’s good for achin’ muscles.” He put his hands behind his head. “Good ending to the tour. I give you five stars on Melp.”

“Thanks, Ramsey. Hopefully that’ll get me dental.” Ramsey found himself yawning without permission. 

“Is it just me, or are these beanbags _too_ comfy?” The dim lighting didn't help.

Molly giggled, but it was without any effort. “Yeah… I know I slept in the car, but I feel so sleepy again.”

“Me too, kid… me too.” Well, it couldn't hurt to nap until dinner, right?

His eyes were closed before he could stop them.

* * *

“Molly? Ramsey?” Ramsey could hear the creaking of a door opening. “Oh, there you are.”

“Huh? Whuh?” Ramsey yawned, opening his eyes to see Percy standing in the entrance to the room. “Oh, hey, Sparky.” He closed his eyes again.

“I see I wasn’t wrong about you two lazing about. Molly?”

“I’m awake.”

“Dinner is ready.”

“It’s not pasta is it? ‘Cause if it is, I ain’t hungry. Molly can have my plate.”

“No, it’s not pasta. It’s risotto and chicken.”

Ramsey immediately sprang up. “Wait, seriously? You and your dad made real food?”

Percy raised an eyebrow. “Yes?”

“I have _got_ to try this.” 

* * *

Against all odds, Arthur King could cook. “Arthur, man, this is delicious.” When was the last time he’d had a real dinner? Forever? 

Arthur beamed at him. “Thank you, Ramsey. I learned from the best. That is to say, cookbooks and celebrity chefs, right Percy?” he said, nudging her. 

She smiled at him. “Yes.” Ramsey got the feeling she had no idea what he was talking about, which would make sense since she clearly had never seen or heard of a cookbook in her life. Arthur laughed, shaking his head. It seemed he knew too. 

“I’m sorry Liz wasn’t here to meetcha today, Ramsey. Shame too. I was telling Percy earlier, y’know, but Gerry– that’s Percy’s uncle– his son was supposed to come home for Christmas. He travels for work.” Ramsey perked up a little. Wait, Gerry was the uncle Percy didn’t like? 

“Photography,” Percy clarified, as if Ramsey cared.

For her effort, he pretended he did. “Oh, cool.”

Arthur grabbed a napkin from the centre of the table. “Yeah! Very cool. Not as cool as architecture and police work, but–”

Percy did not look impressed. “Father.” 

He waved her off. “Right, right. He was supposed to come home, but then of course he decides he isn’t going to last minute.” He rolled his eyes, patting his mouth with the napkin followed by his hands.

Percy pursed her lips in thought. “Well, he’s always been quite flighty.”

Arthur waggled his finger at no one in particular. “Not like our Percy.”

“ _Father_.”

“Percy sounds way better than him,” Molly added, just to stir the pot. Percy looked at her, betrayed. Ramsey stopped himself from laughing by stuffing more rice into his mouth.

“Well, it’d be rude to say that…” Arthur folded the napkin onto his empty plate. “But you’re right, she is,” he added with a wink.

Percy cleared her throat. “I believe you were telling Ramsey what happened?”

Arthur immediately perked up. “Right! So he cancelled, so of course, Gerry goes crying to Liz, because now they wanna spend Christmas up here, but their car– You know what? I’m rambling.” Ramsey almost groaned out loud. Of course he becomes self-aware the second he might divulge any information that was actually useful. “Point is, Liz said she’d pick them up today, stay there the night, and she’ll be here tomorrow. So you’ll see her then.”

“Sounds good to me.” Quiet swept over the room besides small clangs of plates and cutlery and glasses. Was it just him, or was it a little awkward? He was tempted to say something, but at the same time, the only options were to ask more about the family (sort of suspicious? He didn’t want Percy to catch on) or talk about himself, and he really didn’t want to open up any conversation that might be turned on him. If Arthur didn’t know he was an ex-convict, then he wanted to keep it that way. Ramsey glanced over at Percy. She caught his eye, and then looked back to her plate. It didn’t feel like she meant it to be as cold as it seemed. Molly nudged a piece of chicken to the edge of her plate and yawned. She still wasn’t over her nap.

“Tired, Molly?” Ramsey couldn’t imagine Arthur as tired. He was a beacon of energy. Ramsey wondered if he was always like this or just excited to see his kid and granddaughter. He brought the last bite of his dinner to his mouth with a deep disappointment. Hopefully they’d be that good for the rest of the stay. 

Molly shrugged, but she was smiling. “Not really. It’s just post-nap fogginess, I think.” 

“Hopefully you’ll still be able to sleep tonight. Though, I suppose you won’t be needing to get up early for anything specific,” Percy said, and then after a second’s deliberation, added, “Still, that isn’t an excuse for late awakenings.”

Molly moved her hand to rest her head on it. “I know.”

“Oversleeping is just as detrimental to your energy as undersleeping,” Percy continued, oblivious to the indifference in front of her. Ramsey tried to bite back his smile. 

“I knoooow.” He failed.

“I’m just saying—”

“Perrrrrcy,” Molly groaned. 

Percy opened her mouth to debate it further but Arthur quickly interrupted. “Not like you never fell asleep in that room yourself, Percy! I’m sure Molly’s sleep schedule won’t suffer too bad, eh?”

Percy looked off to the side, but nodded. “Yes, I suppose not.” She quickly surveyed the table, looking for something to do. “If everyone is finished, I’ll take the plates.” Ramsey nodded and pushed his a little further in, grabbing the knife and fork from it so she could stack them.

Arthur gave her a solid pat on the back. “Attagirl! I’ll help you wash up.”

“Nah, I will,” Ramsey said quickly, “I ain’t done nothin’ all day.” He didn’t wanna seem like a parasite.

“Alright! Molly, care to join me in the living room?” Arthur stood. 

Molly followed. “Sure!” He held out his arm and Molly raced around the table to take it. Percy watched them go, and Ramsey watched her watch them. 

“My father is very good with her,” she said, finally, and began grabbing the plates from the table. 

Ramsey didn’t like how it sounded. “So are you,” he said, collecting the rest of the cutlery. 

Percy smiled, but her eyebrows furrowed. “I’m too strict.” She brought the plates to the sink and started rummaging through the cabinet underneath. 

Ramsey followed her over, shaking his head. “Nah.” She pulled her head out of the cabinet to give him a look. He rubbed the back of his neck. “You’re _cautious_.” Percy gave sort of a doubtful humph and returned to rummaging. “Besides,” Ramsey continued, “I don’t think Molly minds. ‘S probably more comfortin’ than what she used to get. Which was nothin’, from the sounds of it.” It was crazy to him she even worried about it. If either of his parents cared even a fraction of the amount she did… He didn’t want to think about it. “Look, Percy, if the worst thing you do is care too much, I think you’re doin’ pretty well.”

Percy resurfaced with gloves and a towel in hand, staring down at the dishes in the sink. “Perhaps,” she said finally, after a great moment’s thought, like she usually did when she didn’t agree but didn’t think she’d win a debate. She turned the tap on and offered him the towel. “I’ll wash, you dry?”

Ramsey grinned. “Sure.”

* * *

Washing the dishes didn’t take long– but listening to Arthur rant and rave in the living room (with the occasional interruption from his ‘audience’) easily took up a good two hours of the evening. It was a shame he didn’t say anything more about Percy’s mother or uncle, but Ramsey was grateful he spoke so much. The more he talked about himself, the less Ramsey had to tell him. Still, the clock struck eleven and Percy insisted they be off to bed, no matter how awake they were. Arthur remained downstairs, wandered off to his office after saying good night and telling him he was ‘right downstairs if he needed anything! Office door is always open!’ Weird, but Ramsey tried not to dwell on it. Now, he was rifling through his suitcase on the bed, looking for his pajamas. A gentle but firm knock came from the doorway. Percy’s head peeked around the frame. “Ramsey, a word?”

Ramsey smiled back at her. “What’s up?”

Percy quickly made her way into the room and over to him, still dressed in her day clothes. He tried to remember what her pajamas looked like. The only time he’d really seen her in them was… Geez, September? A while ago. Previously, he theorized she simply slept in her uniform. Maybe she did, just not on weekends. He coughed to avoid giggling about the idea. She peered inside his suitcase, and he was suddenly grateful his underwear was not on display.

“Nothing’s folded,” she said. In fairness, he wasn’t expecting it to be inspected. 

Ramsey shrugged. “Meh.” And then, to distract her from lecturing him on being tidy, “Somethin’ up?”

It worked. Percy pulled herself from the luggage and back to him. “Not at all. I simply wanted to ‘check in’.”

Ramsey smirked. “Oh, yeah?”

“Yes.”

“Alright.” He went back to his suitcase. Percy did not say anything else. 

He looked back at her expectantly. “You gonna ‘check in’ or what?”

Percy looked mildly surprised. “Oh. I was waiting for you to tell me.”

Ramsey laughed. “Usually you gotta actually ask first. It’s alright, we’ll, uh, we’ll restart.” He mimed doing his actions backwards. “Okay, ask me now.”

“Ask you what?”

“Percy!”

She waved one of her hands. “Worry not, Ramsey, I jest. Ahem. How is all?”

Time to employ his greatest weapon: deflection. “Oh, you know, it’s been great, Percy. I’m staying at my friend’s parent’s house for the holidays and they’re totally loaded.”

Percy raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?”

“Yeah, yeah. Thinkin’ of how I’m gonna make off with some of their family heirlooms, maybe some cash. Find the vault, all that jazz. Whatcha think?”

She sighed. “It would certainly bring some level of entertainment to Marchpoint.” Now _that_ was unexpected. 

Ramsey pretended to be more shocked than he was. “Woah, woah, woah– you gotta _scold_ me, Percy! Please don’t tell me Miss Fuzz herself is gettin’ soft on crime?” Not that he considered it even possible, but he would believe anything to take the light off himself.

Percy crossed her arms. “Hardly. I’m simply saying that catching you in the act would make the general nature of this trip a little more exciting.” She brought her hand to her chin. “Though I can’t say I’d be pleased to experience such betrayal.”

Uh huh. Percival King was bored. “Ohh, I see.” He pointed a finger at her. “Hometown’s too monotonous for you, huh? Wanna be out on the streets, fighting bad guys, takin’ names.” He leaned in a little closer, batting his eyelashes. “D’ya miss your sword?”

Percy held up her hand, closing her eyes and looking especially pleased. “Not at all. My sword is with me.”

Ramsey immediately straightened up. “Wait, you brought your sword!?” Why was he surprised?

Percy looked bemused. “Of course.” 

He shook his head, deciding to focus his attention on his pajama search again. “Fair enough, I guess.” He wanted out of these jeans and quick. 

Percy took a sudden inhale of breath, like she was going to say something but forget to. That was never a good sign. It meant she wanted to say something, but wasn’t sure if it was the right time or not, and Ramsey had a suspicion he knew what it was gonna be. She tried again, and Ramsey tried to urge her to stop with brainwaves. “Ramsey, about what happened earlier, in the car…” Dammit.

He groaned before he could stop himself. “Ah, geez, Perc’, can’t we just forget about it?”

She frowned. “I’d rather we didn’t.”

Ramsey rubbed his face. He didn’t want to get into it now. “Look, I’ll tell you later, alright? I promise. Just… not right now.” Not when he could still disappoint her. 

Percy paused, then nodded. “Alright. But I’ll be holding you to that promise, Ramsey Murdoch.”

Ramsey acted wounded. “Oof, full name– NOW I know you’re serious.”

“I certainly am.”

He tried to smile at her. “So am I.”

She smiled back. “Good.” They stayed like that for a moment, smiling at each other. Like crazy people, Ramsey thought absentmindedly, but not in a bad way at all. 

“Percy?” Molly suddenly called from the room over, “Is my toothbrush in your bag?” Brought back to reality, Ramsey tried to ignore the heat in his face and focus on his pajamas again. 

“One moment!” Percy called back. She turned back to him. She didn’t seem nearly as put-off. “Goodnight, Ramsey. I hope the room is ‘up to scruff’, as the kids say.” Ramsey never knew where Percy got these ‘kids’ sayings from, but it sure wasn’t kids. 

Welp, time to lie. “Aw, yeah. It’s great. Hotel quality, but without the gross, y’know?” His grin was forced. “G’night, Sparky.”

She turned to leave, but stopped halfway there to turn to him again, a deep seriousness behind her eyes. Ramsey waited for her to say something new and crazy that would change his worldview. “Don’t forget to brush your teeth,” she said instead, because of course she did. 

Ramsey simpered. “I won’t.”

“Bad dental hygiene is next to criminal, Ramsey.” Well, he’d hate to go to jail again. 

He grinned innocently. “Yes, officer.”

She nodded. “Good. The bathroom is down the hall.”

And then she left him behind, closing the door behind her. Ramsey sighed, throwing a cautious glance towards the bed. Bed time. He gave the room a quick look over to check if it was any more comforting. Nope. It looked just as unbearable to sleep in as before. He checked his watch. It wasn’t that late. He could stay up. Nah, no point. Might as well sleep now and get it over with, finally make use of all that bravery he was trying to work on. He pulled out his pajama, heaved the suitcase back onto the floor, and got ready for bed.

But when the lights went out, the dark came in. He tried to ignore how it pooled in the corners and crept across the room. The bed was comfy, he kept thinking, and suddenly like a hammer he’d realised what Arthur said. Everyone would be arriving tomorrow. He had to ask Percy if they knew he was a convict. What if they were disgusted when they saw him? His face? Chastised Percy for even considering bringing him along and kicked him out? Worse, he’d had such a fun time today with Molly– what if this ruined that? Geez, what were they even like? What had Percy even told him about them? He tried to run through the names in his head. Liz. Gerry. Jen? There were two more, for sure. Gaah, why couldn’t he remember them? And, geez, if Percy couldn’t stand her uncle how could he? He gripped the pillow tight. The bed was comfy but it was way too warm, and the covers strangled him. What the hell was he doing here? Trying to become a part of something he didn’t belong to, force himself into a jigsaw he wasn’t a piece in. He hated Christmas, he hated this stupid room, he hated being alone, and he hated himself for not being worth any better. Tears pricked at his eyes. Wimpy, no-good, cowardly… dammit. Dammit, dammit, dammit. Didn’t he ever shut up? He turned in bed, as if it would help, staring at the wall in front of him with a bitter taste in his mouth. Shut up and sleep, he told himself.   
  
~~Why'd she always have to leave him in the dark?~~


End file.
